


Take the Long Way Home

by pommedeplume



Series: Hollow Hills [3]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Supernatural Elements, Amnesia, Cryptozoology, Dolls, Fae & Fairies, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Ghosts, M/M, Mystery, Rating May Change, Rating is for dark thematic content, Road Trips, Sasquatch, Sharing a Bed, Slow Burn, Vampires, Werewolves, Witches, body swapping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2018-12-07
Packaged: 2019-08-16 15:36:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 25,776
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16498268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pommedeplume/pseuds/pommedeplume
Summary: Months ago Sirius Black awoke with no memory of his past life. His only hope at discovering who he really is lies with Remus Lupin: a man who has dedicated his life to investigating the supernatural. But does Remus have his own dark secrets?





	1. Apeman

The Allman Brothers played on the radio as Sirius Black tapped a finger on the steering wheel of his car, losing track of the time. He picked up his notebook, the one he’d been writing notes in for weeks. He flipped through it, the word repeating on page after page. A word that had been haunting him for months.

A lot of things about Sirius’s life were a mystery to him. In the movies when someone lost their memory they lost the whole thing. Or they forgot a single night. For Sirius it was a little more complicated. He could remember his childhood. His teenager years were clear. Adulthood extended on until his mid-thirties. Then things got dicey.

One day he found himself in a motel in a town in Oregon with no memory how he got there. And no one seemed to know who he was. Legally he existed but he could find no one who knew he had ever existed. His phone had no contacts. His email was empty. His bank account still worked and he had money. Lots of money actually. He was afraid to spend it for a while but eventually he had no choice.

There was one damn weird detail at the motel that morning. A word was written on a notepad: Lupin. It was the first thing he saw when he woke up. He barely thought twice about it until he realized he couldn’t remember a damn thing.

He rewrote the word, right beneath it, testing to see if it was his handwriting. His handwriting was much cleaner and more precise. Sirius could remember attending a private school and having good penmanship drilled into his brain. No, there was no chance the scrawl of Lupin had been written by him.

Sirius had gone to the front desk, ostensibly to check out but also to find out who his guest had been. It was the damnedest thing: the man who had checked out the room was named Peter Pettigrew. Sirius quickly left, finding with luck that his keys did go to a car sitting in the parking lot.

He just went to another hotel, deciding he should stick around in case anything interesting happened. A week later there was a death reported in the local paper. A man named Peter Pettigrew had been found dead. They didn’t say how he died and Sirius was never able to find out. He tried to find out who Pettigrew was but every avenue was a dead end.

So he was left with only one choice: to find out who or what Lupin was. The name turned out to be the key to everything. He learned it comes from the Latin word lupinus, meaning wolf-like. He got pretty bad chills when he read that. It was also where they got the name for lupines, which were pretty enough flowers but didn’t seem likely to be important enough to scrawl on a notepad before disappearing and ending up dead.

But Lupin had been capitalized like it was a proper name. The trouble was that Sirius couldn’t find anybody named Lupin, aside from some French detective stories from over a hundred years before.

The word haunted him for an entire year before Sirius finally found him. Remus Lupin. The only man alive with that last name. He couldn’t believe it. But tracking him down had been surprisingly easy. He was originally from Montana. Sirius called people in his home town to ask questions but no one knew anything about him or had even heard of him.

Sirius found him online under the user name Romulus310. Sirius had felt like a stalker in the process but he was desperate. Turned out Lupin traveled a lot. He had a blog and had recently posted about traveling to East Texas. Sirius traveled across the country from Oregon to get to him before he had a chance to move on again, checking into the motel he seemed to be staying in and waiting all morning the following day for him to come out. He’d posted a few blurry, old pictures of himself online that had unintentionally given away his location.

Remus Lupin didn’t leave his motel room until it was nearly noon. He was nothing like Sirius expected. He wore a nice button up shirt and black slacks. His golden brown hair was well combed and he’d obviously just had a shower. He was well put together for a man who was always on the move. He was familiar in an unsettling way.

Sirius moved quickly, hopping out of his car to greet him. He knew he couldn’t just bust out with the real reason he was there but he could at the very least make an introduction.

“Hey, I noticed your Sasquatch bumper sticker. That’s cool. I’m from the Pacific Northwest myself,” Sirius said, startling the man, who slowly turned towards him.

“Oh. I guess you could say I’m a fan of cryptids,” the man replied.

“I’m Sirius. Sirius Black,” he said, extending a hand for him to shake.

“Remus Lupin,” the man said, seeming shocked by something as he shook Sirius’s hand.

“Pleased to meet you,” Sirius said, letting go of his hand.

“Say, Sirius. I was just about to go get some coffee. Would you care to join me? We can chat about our… mutual interest,” Remus invited, his hands in his pockets.

Sirius was a little bewildered. Lupin didn’t seem angry or scared. He seemed genuinely curious and only a little bit standoffish.

* * *

 

They mostly chatted about conspiracy theories at first over tea and coffee, the tea for Sirius and the coffee for Remus. Remus was skeptical that the government knew anything about cryptids or ghosts but was cagey over whether he himself had ever seen anything.

“So, you’re from Montana,” Sirius said, getting bored of the conversation and wanting to cut to the chase.

Remus gave him a surprised look and said, “Yes, though I don’t see how you know that.”

Sirius sighed.

“I’ll be honest. I found you online. I didn’t mean it to seem creepy. I’m not a stalker,” Sirius said, never feeling more like a stalker than he did in that moment.

“Which is what any good stalker would say,” Remus laughed.

“If you want me to go, I will. You can even call the police on me. I won’t fight it,” Sirius smiled, though in truth he was more afraid of the man himself than he was the police.

“That won’t be necessary. Can I show you something?” Remus asked.

“Of course,” Sirius asked, trying to seem casual like this was somehow a business meeting.

Remus picked up his book bag and pulled out what appeared to be an old leather-bound journal. Sirius reached over to grab it but Remus pulled it away, shaking his head in disapproval.

“We’re not there yet. I don’t trust you,” Remus warned.

“That’s fair. Sorry,” Sirius acknowledged.

Remus’s deep brown eyes looked contemplative. He set the journal on the table and opened it, turning to the first page.

“Now, tell me: do these names mean anything to you?” Remus asked.

 

_From James and Lily Potter, to their son Harry_

 

“No,” Sirius answered honestly, shaking his head.

Remus looked disappointed. He sighed and nodded, closing the journal.

“Should I have recognized them?” Sirius asked.

Remus looked sad and said, “I don’t know. Perhaps not.”

“Where did the journal come from? Family heirloom?” Sirius asked.

“I have no idea where it comes from. I just found it. Or it found me. I don’t know,” Remus said, sliding it back in his bag.

“I’m afraid I don’t understand,” Sirius said, throwing up his hands.

“Neither do I. And yet this journal has been the only thing keeping me going. How funny that…” Remus said but trailed off.

“This is all very fucking odd,” Sirius chuckled but Remus gave him an unamused glare.

“Yes, it is. Actually… let me show you something else,” Remus said, pulling out the journal again and rapidly flipping through it until he found a page, pointing at it and sliding it over to Sirius.

Sirius read the line right below Remus’s finger:

 

_Ask your Uncle Sirius about ghosts. He’ll have a great deal to say._

 

“Jesus,” Sirius said, startling so much he almost knocked over his tea.

“I’ve never known anyone named Sirius before,” Remus said, a small smile appearing on his face.

Sirius’s mind raced. The Lupin clue had lead him to a truth. But what did it all mean?

“What is this journal? The contents. What’s in it?” Sirius asked, pointing at it accusingly.

“It’s a guidebook. Notes and explanations about… the supernatural,” Remus said.

Sirius tried his best not to laugh and said, “What, like… earnestly?”

“Completely. The authors show no signs of doubt. There’s no narrative form to it. It’s just scattered information,” Remus said.

“Any other mentions of me?” Sirius asked.

Remus flipped through it, shaking his head.

“No. And no mentions of me. I know you were thinking that. No, at no point do I come up,” Remus frowned, then closed it.

“How did you come to it?” Sirius asked, knowing Remus had already dodged an answer once.

“It’s a long story. I’d rather not get into it,” Remus said, looking uncomfortable, avoiding Sirius’s eyes.

“Fair enough. So… is it real?” Sirius asked, leaning forward over the table.

“Is what real?” Remus smirked.

Sirius leaned further forward and whispered, “The supernatural.”

“Oh, yes,” Remus smiled.

“How do you know?” Sirius asked.

Remus chuckled and said, “Let’s say I’ve had some hints. And… if you had any idea how long I’ve been searching for someone, anyone named Sirius… and then you just show up. My God. If that’s not supernatural, I don’t know what is.”

Remus unexpectedly stood up, forcing Sirius to follow him.

“Now what?” Sirius asked as they left the diner, exiting out into the sweltering Texas summer heat.

“Want to help me find Sasquatch?” Remus asked.

“Wait. Really?” Sirius asked.

“Oh yeah. I talked to a guy online who said he saw Sasquatch in the woods nearby,” Remus replied as they got inside his car.

“Is Sasquatch real?” Sirius asked.

Remus shrugged.

“I’ve never found him. Most sightings are in the Pacific Northwest. I’m starting to think maybe Bigfoot is an actual myth but… well, I guess I’m like Fox Mulder. I want to believe,” Remus said, giving Sirius a wink.

* * *

Remus drove them to a lake in the next town over. It was the middle of summer and folks were blasting country music out of trucks while teenagers ran around screaming and shouting. Sirius missed being that young and stupid.

Sirius faintly remembered his first kiss at his family’s summer cabin by the lake. He couldn’t remember the boy’s name but he had been twelve at the time. His brother Regulus had caught them and they had lied and told him they were only playing. He wasn’t sure sure if Regs had believed him. Now, Sirius wasn’t even sure what had become of Regulus.

“So, I need to lay out some ground rules, Sirius,” Remus said.

“Ground rules for what?” Sirius replied.

Remus chuckled.

“You should know that I don’t do romance. It’s nothing personal… I just see you giving me the eyes and… I just thought it was better to cut you off before things get messy,” Remus said with a sideways smile.

Sirius scoffed, feeling insulted. Sure, Remus wasn’t wrong. He had been being checking him out. He was hot. What was the harm in it? Still, he couldn’t very well admit to that.

“Get over yourself. The arrogance!” Sirius complained.

Remus shrugged.

“Remember. We’re just here to observe. I don’t have any weapons,” Remus said.

“If there is something out there don’t you think the world deserves to know?” Sirius asked.

“Yes. But they won’t believe me. And I would instead make myself a target. You’re not the first person who has sought me out,” Remus said.

“Aren’t you afraid?” Sirius asked.

“Every day. But… I’ve got nothing else. This is who I am now. I’ve tried to toss it aside and live a normal life but… It’s no use,” Remus shrugged.

“How do you afford this life?” Sirius asked.

“A story for another day,” Remus said.

“So, now what?” Sirius replied.

“Now we get ready to find out if Sasquatch is hanging out in some small town in East Texas,” Remus said, smiling proudly.

After dark fell, they wandered out into the woods. People were faintly still partying at the lake as they strolled through the pine trees. Personally, Sirius was more afraid of stumbling upon a bear than Bigfoot.

“So, let’s say we do encounter Bigfoot? What do we do? Ask for his autograph?” Sirius joked.

“You’ll see. Let’s say I’ve got an ace up my sleeve and I’m hoping you might as well,” Remus said.

“Are you always this vague and mysterious?” Sirius asked, barely trying to hide his annoyance.

“Yes,” Remus answered proudly.

They had been strolling through the woods, away from the light of the town when they finally heard some sounds. There was rustling coming from up the hill before them. Slowly they crept up the hill, crouching and trying to make as little sound as possible. A strange sensation filled Sirius’s body. It was like waking up after a perfect night’s sleep. He had a sudden burst of energy and near perfect clarity.

And then the figure appeared at the top of the hill. It must’ve been at least eight feet tall and quite wide with ape like appendages. Sasquatch. It was fucking real. And then it moved, marching their way. Sirius made to screech but Remus grabbed his hand. Suddenly, the figure stopped moving. Sirius could see its head looking around as if whatever it had been looking for had just disappeared.

Sirius held his breath as it slowly turned and walked the other way while Remus’s grip on his hand didn’t loosen.

“What the fuck just happened?” Sirius gasped.

“Two sides of the same coin,” Remus whispered, his face beaming in the partial moonlight.

“What?”

“I’ll explain once we are out of the woods,” Remus said, starting to turn around, still holding Sirius’s hand.

“What about Sasquatch?” Sirius asked.

“We’ll come back tomorrow night. My guess is he’s not going to stick around, though,” Remus said.

A half hour later they were back to Remus’s car. A police officer came by and scolded them and nearly gave them a ticket for being in the woods but Remus managed to talk his way out of it.

On the drive back to the motel Remus explained.

“This is why I never fear the supernatural. It’s… like I’m invisible. I can see the supernatural but I can hide myself with just a thought,” Remus said.

“Funny. I thought maybe you were a werewolf,” Sirius admitted, feeling stupid.

“What? No! What, because of my name?” Remus said, sounding flabbergasted.

Sirius shrugged.

“Anyhow… I think you’re my counterpart.The yin to my yang. There’s no way he saw us… but he was headed right for us… no, he was headed right for _you_. I think you’re some sort of magnet for the supernatural,” Remus explained.

“But why? Doesn’t this seem a little too coincidental and strange?” Sirius said.

“Yes. Which probably means it _isn’t_ a coincidence. Just because you can’t find a reason doesn’t mean there isn’t one. But I think the two of us are meant to be together. Partners… if you want. There’s no money in this. But I think whatever answers we are both may be seeking can only be found by together. Working together,” Remus said.

“Let me sleep on it. If I’m going to change my life… I should at least get some rest first,” Sirius said, yawning.

Of course, he didn’t get much sleep at all that night. Big life changes were always a bit stressful and intimidating but this one really took the cake. All the answers that Sirius could ever want laid ahead. The choice wasn’t really a choice. He couldn’t think of a single good reason to turn him down, other than fear of the unknown.

Sirius knocked on Remus’s door right at ten in the morning. Remus opened the door with an open shirt, still in his boxers. Had Sirius been a younger and more confident man with less respect for Remus he might’ve flirted with him at that moment. He did look so accidentally sexy. Instead Sirius just said good morning as Remus let him inside.

“I’m in. Though there’s something I don’t understand and it kept me awake most of the night,” Sirius said.

“What’s that?” Remus said, pulling his pants on, his shirt still unbuttoned.

“If I’m a magnet for the supernatural… why have I never encountered anything?”

Remus laughed and said, “Maybe you have. After all, something happened to bring us together. There are things you haven’t told me, aren’t there?”

“Maybe,” Sirius answered.

“Are you going to tell me what brought you to me? And don’t just say fate,” Remus smirked, lacing up his shoes.

Sirius sighed.

“I woke up in a motel. I had no idea how I got there. I just woke up. And I couldn’t remember things. It was like years of my life had just disappeared. I had lost years of memory. There was a notepad with a word written in a handwriting that was not my own on it. Lupin,” Sirius said, waiting to see Remus’s reaction.

Remus strangely only nodded and said, “I see. Did you find out who wrote the note?”

“Yes. The room was under the name of Peter Pettigrew. A man who shortly later turned up dead,” Sirius said.

Remus stared at Sirius, rapidly blinking.

“Pettigrew. Jesus. That name is in the journal,” Remus said.

“Are you certain?” Sirius asked.

“Very. God, I wish you had mentioned it before,” Remus said, running off to rifle through the journal, then bringing over a page to show Sirius.

Sirius looked at a passage that read _Pettigrew has all the details on the living dead_. Sirius suddenly felt faint and he dropped the journal.

“Whoa there,” Remus said, catching Sirius as he started to stumble.

“I guess I really didn’t sleep well,” Sirius admitted, laughing.

“I didn’t sleep well either,” Remus added, smiling at Sirius.

Remus was so near for a moment. He was so very handsome. Those full, pouty lips were so enticing. For a moment Sirius thought maybe Remus would try to kiss him but instead he let Sirius go. He then went about his business, including packing up as they would be hitting the road that night, though Sirius didn’t know where they would be going. But first was the unresolved matter of Sasquatch.

* * *

 

That night they arrived at the lake a bit earlier, heading out sooner. Remus insisted on standing a bit further from Sirius to encourage Sasquatch to come out into the open without Remus’s… whatever it was, protecting Sirius.

Unfortunately, they had to travel much further into the woods this time, far past where they went before. They reached a tributary where they finally saw the large figure, seemingly bent over to drink from the stream.

“I’ll be damned,” Sirius said.

“Go,” Remus urged.

“Are fucking mad? What if he rips my arms from my sockets then beats me to death with them?” Sirius shrieked.

“I won’t let him. I’m faster than I look. You just need to lure him this way,” Remus insisted.

Sirius glared at him, considering the lengths he would go to to impress a hot guy. Shaking his head, Sirius slowly approached Sasquatch. He had a vague memory of watching Harry and the Hendersons when he was a child. He hoped this Bigfoot would be just as friendly.

Sirius quietly crept towards the figure. It stood up and turned around. In the moonlight, Sirius could only see tufts of its silver-grey hair and a faint shine of its eyes.

“H-Hello,” Sirius stammered and slowly began to back away.

It stepped in his direction, silently and slowly. The heavy thuds of its feet sent chills up his spine. It extended a hand towards him. Sirius stared at it in wonder and fear just as a snarl echoed nearby.

Sasquatch grunted as the sounds of paws echoed. The sounds were strangely familiar but Sirius couldn’t recall when or where he had heard them. Before he knew it Remus’s arms were around him as the wolf beast arrived. Sasquatch stood between them and the wolf, though now the wolf seemed to be solely focusing on Sasquatch. It leapt at Sasquatch, finding itself smacked back, unable to stand up to its raw strength as it was knocked back to the ground with a hard thud.

“Let’s go,” Remus whispered in Sirius’s ear and they ran back out of the woods, hand in hand all the way.

Behind them the sounds of a glorious battle echoed. Sirius couldn’t be sure of the victor but he was certain that he had heard a deep roar akin to a large primate and no further wolf sounds.

They made it back to the car in one piece, finally releasing hands as they got inside. Remus quickly started the engine and they drove away.

“Is that normal?” Sirius finally asked, as they sped down a highway.

“No. No it’s not,” Remus answered firmly.

They didn’t talk much more on the drive to Dallas, mostly listening to the radio in mutual silence. Sirius was pleased to see that Remus had the same taste in classic rock that he had. They checked into a hotel that wasn’t so rundown as the last place, around three in the morning. Sirius insisted on sharing a room. He thought separate rooms would just make things more difficult, though it was possible that Remus was more keen on his privacy.

“We should be more wary of full moons in the future. I didn’t even think,” Remus said, sitting on his bed, looking at his laptop screen.

“So what’s next?” Sirius asked, plopping down on his own bed.

“Well, I’d sure like to know why James and Lily Potter thought Uncle Sirius was the guy to ask about ghosts,” Remus said.

“I don’t know anything about ghosts. Actually… I’m pretty sure I don’t believe in ghosts,” Sirius said.

“Sirius, you just watched Bigfoot fight a werewolf. Is it really a stretch?”

“That’s… fair.”

“We should go somewhere haunted and see what happens,” Remus said.

“Have you ever seen a ghost?” Sirius asked.

“No.”

“What have you seen? You’ve been doing this for a while now.”

“I’ll give you my files but in short… I’ve done a lot more talking to people than anything else. I believe I’ve found substantial evidence of a supernatural underworld but until tonight… Well, let’s say I’m feeling vindicated. Terrified… but vindicated.”

“What happens when your magic isn’t enough to protect us,” Sirius asked.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it. For now… I’m going to find somewhere haunted for us to explore.”


	2. Rose Garden

A crow was perched on the fence of the Grey Bird Inn. It seemed to be staring at Sirius, making him feel uncomfortable. This was the third inn they had visited in the last two weeks. The inn itself was Victorian in design and probably looked more welcoming on days with nicer weather. But currently it was a cloudy evening, giving the entire event a sinister pallor.

“I don’t have high hopes for this place. There’s no reports of any murders or anything especially unpleasant having happened here. Just one weird thing that happened twenty years ago,” Remus explained as they walked up to the steps.

“Oh?” Sirius said.

“A woman was staying here with her husband. She disappeared for a day. The husband said she was dead. But then she turned up completely fine and unharmed but didn’t want to talk about what happened,” Remus explained.

“So, what does that have to do with ghosts?” Sirius asked.

“Absolutely nothing, which is why this is the last place we’re visiting before we move on to another state,” Remus laughed as they opened the front doors.

Remus checked them in and they went up the stairs to their suite. Everything inside was honestly quite friendly, Sirius thought. Far less drab than the name Grey Bird would indicate. It was old but had obviously undergone a lot of restorations over the last hundred years.

“Here we go. Room five,” Remus said.

“Even our room number really isn’t sinister,” Sirius complained.

“Are you eager for something terrible to happen?” Remus said, tossing his keys on his bed, the one nearest to the bathroom.

“No. Well, yes. Sort of. I’m eager… for answers,” Sirius said.

“That’s reasonable given your situation. Personally, I just want to test your ghost detecting powers out,” Remus grinned, plopping onto his bed.

“I don’t have any. You’re going to be disappointed,” Sirius said, sitting down on his bed, the one nearest the window.

“Maybe. I guess we’ll find out. Based on our experience with Sasquatch, if there’s anything supernatural here it should come to you like bees to honey,” Remus smiled.

Remus really did seem more chipper than when Sirius first met him a few weeks ago. Sirius had come to realize that Remus Lupin was a very lonely man. He didn’t talk much about his life before he found the journal but Sirius could tell he had no real friends, just acquaintances he had met on the road.

“Do you suppose we should at least get ghost hunting stuff?” Sirius asked.

“None of that stuff does anything. How can you decide you can use a device to detect ghosts if you haven’t first proven that ghosts exists. It’s doing science backwards. Don’t think that just because I believe in weird shit that I’m not practical,” Remus snarked.

“Fair enough. If I do meet a ghost how will I know?” Sirius said.

“Do you mean how will you know it’s real? I don’t know. I guess just how we knew Sasquatch was real. We saw it with our own eyes. We can’t prove we saw him but we know what we saw,” Remus said.

“But do we? If we made up Sasquatch in the first place is it fair to call some being that just appears like that Sasquatch?” Sirius asked.

Remus glared at him then smiled and shrugged.

“You make a compelling argument, Sirius Black. I suppose you’re right. But it’s true for lots of things. Language is just a tool. It doesn’t matter what we call it. What we saw fit the bill,” Remus said.

“Maybe we should’ve gone back and grabbed some hairs or something to prove it,” Sirius said.

“I don’t care about proving anything. I only want to know,” Remus said.

“We should at least start a blog,” Sirius said.

“I have one. You’ve seen it,” Remus said.

“Yes, but a better one. Talk more about what we’ve seen. Help other people out there who are seeking these answers. What if everything people think is true about the supernatural isn’t true? Don’t we have a responsibility to inform them?” Sirius said.

“No. You’re jumping the gun. Let’s see how things go tonight,” Remus said and hopped off the bed.

“Where are you going?” Sirius asked.

“I’m taking a shower. And no, you aren’t invited,” Remus winked with a chuckle, unbuttoning his shirt as he headed to the bathroom.

“Pity,” Sirius whispered to himself as soon as Remus was inside the bathroom.

* * *

It was three minutes before one a.m. when something happened. Sirius was awoken by a whisper. It was icy and distant yet it surrounded his entire being. Remus was fast asleep, snoring in the other bed. Sirius slid out of bed, silently creeping through the room. The whispers were coming from the hall. Sirius grabbed the room key just in case, then wandered into the hall, still in his pyjamas.

He had to cover his mouth as soon as he stepped into the hall, a translucent vision of a woman in glasses standing in the hallway reeling around to face him. She seemed to move incredibly slow and very fast at same time. Her mouth opened uncomfortably wide as the icy whispers came forth from her mouth.

“Hi?” Sirius whispered back at her.

She suddenly shrieked, then flew away, disappearing through a wall.

“OK. That was weird,” Sirius said and ran back into their room.

He ran to Remus’s side and shook him.

“Remus. Wake the hell up,” Sirius said and flipped on his lamp.

“Did you see a ghost? If you didn’t see a ghost you better let me go the fuck back to sleep,” Remus grumbled.

“Yes. Kind of. I think. I’ve never met a ghost before but she definitely seemed like a ghost,” Sirius said.

“What happened. Tell me everything,” Remus said, sitting up quickly and grabbing his laptop.

“I heard some creepy whispers. So I went out into the hall to investigate. And suddenly there was this scary looking woman there,” Sirius said.

“Describe her,” Remus asked, frantically typing.

“Uhh… she had glasses. Curly hair. She was blue but you could see right through her. Clothes looked kind of retro. Like from the nineties,” Sirius said.

Remus suddenly glared in his direction and said, “Did she look like that?” as he pointed behind Sirius.

“Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me,” Sirius said as he turned around, the ghostly figure right behind him, pointing at him with her mouth hanging open.

“Don’t move,” Remus said.

“Are you going to come grab my hand now?” Sirius asked.

“No. I want to see what happen,” Remus replied.

“What the fuck? What if she _kills_ me?” Sirius shrieked.

“Relax. We have no reason to think she means any-“

Suddenly, she flew straight through Sirius and in a flash Remus’s lamp was crashing into the wall, making everything dark.

“Harm?” Sirius finished for Remus.

Sirius crept over to Remus, the ghostly woman now floating in front of Remus’s bed.

“OK. Take my hand,” Remus said and Sirius did.

The figure seemed confused for a moment then disappeared, flying out the window.

“God, your palm is sweaty,” Remus whispered.

“Fuck off… I mean don’t let go but like… shut up,” Sirius snapped.

To his relief Remus didn’t let go. Minutes passed and Sirius finally released his hand, standing up, afraid that she might return at any moment.

“I guess we should try to get back to sleep,” Remus said.

“Sleep? What are we going to do about the lamp?” Sirius said.

“I have night terrors or something,” Remus sighed.

“Night terrors?” Sirius balked.

“Would you rather I tell them we had a lovers’s quarrel?” Remus joked.

Sirius felt himself turning red and went over to his bed in silence. He knew he wasn’t going to get anymore sleep but he wasn’t sure what else he could do.

* * *

 

Remus was already awake when Sirius got up the morning, typing away at his laptop.

“Could you type a little quieter? Some of us didn’t sleep very well,” Sirius said, trying to pop his neck.

“Hush. It’s taken some digging but I’ve found the identity of the woman who disappeared twenty years ago. Does she look familiar to you?” Remus said, lifting up his laptop and pointing the screen in Sirius’s direction.

“Jesus,” Sirius said, seeing a bespectacled, curly haired figure who looked identical to their ghostly visitor, except she wasn’t transparent or blue.

“Doris Purkiss is her name,” Remus said, setting the laptop back in his lap.

“When did she die?” Sirius asked.

“She didn’t. She’s alive and well, living in Wichita. She’s divorced. Not sure what the story is there,” Remus said.

“Are you going to message her on Facebook?” Sirius asked, mockingly.

“Not yet. Not until we find out what our blue friend really is,” Remus briefly smirked, then closed the laptop.

“Lord. What are we going to do?” Sirius asked.

Remus bit his lip and laughed, nodding in Sirius’s direction as he said, “You’re going to lure her back out tonight.”

“Fuck me,” Sirius groaned.

“Now, Sirius, I told you how I feel about that,” Remus said.

“Yes, you remind me constantly. The vanity of it is appalling,” Sirius mocked.

Remus only smirked and shook his head, saying, “Quiet now. Let’s go find some breakfast.”

* * *

 

“This is stupid. And yet here I am, going along with it. Because _I’m_ stupid,” Sirius grumbled as he casually stood in the hall of the inn alone.

Sirius stood waiting for far too long, feeling grateful that none of the other guests were up and about. He still jumped when she finally appeared. Sirius waved at her, hoping if he seemed friendly she wouldn’t attack him or anything.

She instead floated his way, getting right up on him, seeming to almost be sniffing him, though that were physically impossible.

“Hi. Is there something I can help you with?” Sirius asked.

Unexpectedly she reached up to his face, brushing his cheek with icy fingertips.

“Uhhh,” Sirius said nervously, horrified as she leaned up to his mouth, pressing the coldest, strangest feeling lips against his warm, alive ones.

Remus burst out of the room, grabbing Sirius’s wrist, perhaps thinking things had gone too far. In an instant, she darted backwards in shock but then something unusual happened. She slowly drifted forward again, seeming unsure for a moment but then smiling up at Sirius. She then turned her face sharply towards Remus in a grimace.

“Uhhh. That’s never happened before,” Remus said, squeezing Sirius’s wrist tighter.

“She looks kinda angry. What should we do?” Sirius asked.

“Run. I say we run. Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Remus said and darted down the stairs, still holding onto Sirius who stumbled behind him, glancing back to see that she was still following.

“That’s not the right door. That goes to the garden,” Sirius complained as Remus exited out the side door anyway.

“We’re not going to the car. But I bet she can’t leave the inn,” Remus said as they stopped moving in front of the inn’s rose garden, filled with old statues and a large bird bath.

The garden seemed well maintained but it wasn’t really the right season for it.

“The moonlight is bright tonight, isn’t it?” Sirius said.

“Very. Garden is bathed in blue,” Remus said and they both looked at the sky.

The moon wasn’t visible at all nor were any stars. It was completely overcast and black.

“That’s weird,” Sirius said and glanced behind them, seeing their ghostly friend drifting their way.

“Bad news. She’s coming still,” Sirius revealed and Remus sighed.

“Any ideas what we do next?” Remus said.

“This was all your plan, buddy,” Sirius reminded him.

Remus grunted but they both jumped as she went right past them, into the garden.

“Uh… what the fuck?” Sirius asked.

“What the fuck, indeed,” Remus added.

The ghostly figure of Doris Purkiss flew around the garden, seeming jubilant. She smiled across at them then disappeared, the blue haze also vanishing.

“Um. Well, then,” Sirius said.

Remus let go of his wrist at last. Sirius rubbed it, not realizing how tightly Remus had been squeezing. They both awkwardly stood in silence, glancing at each other. Eventually it started to rain.

“We just gonna stand here and get wet?” Sirius asked.

“I was thinking about it. Fine. Let’s go inside,” Remus replied.

Once back inside they dried themselves off with towels. Remus opened his laptop up and took notes while Sirius flipped through the journal.

“There really isn’t anything about ghosts in here,” Sirius observed.

“Nope. They clearly thought you were the man to ask about ghosts. A veritable expert, I imagine,” Remus said in a condescending tone.

“Fuck off. So what do we do now?” Sirius asked.

“We stay another night, see if she comes back,” Remus said.

Sirius groaned but otherwise made no protestations.

* * *

 

She did not return the following night. Sirius wandered all around the inn and the grounds to see if something, anything would happen but there was nothing. Just like that, she was gone.

“I think our next move is to go to Wichita,” Remus said.

“You can’t be serious. Do you really want to go knock on Doris Purkiss’s door and ask her what happened twenty years ago?” Sirius asked.

“No. I thought we’d talk to Stubby Boardman,” Remus grinned.

“Who the hell is Stubby Boardman?” Sirius said.

“Her ex-husband. The one she was with when she disappeared,” Remus replied.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Sirius sighed, coming over to look as Remus turned his laptop to face Sirius.

“He looks kind of like you, don’t think?” Remus said.

“God, you must think I’m hideous,” Sirius joked.

“I didn’t say that. I just mean with the hair and being so tall. Apparently he used to be in a band. You seem like the type,” Remus said.

“No. Not my kind of art,” Sirius said, vague memories of the past swirling at the back of his head.

“So, pack up. We’re going to Wichita in the morning,” Remus said.

“Fine. I didn’t have anything else planned, anyway,” Sirius said, throwing his hands up in frustration.

* * *

 

Wichita was only a two hour drive away. They didn’t even stop for lunch on the way there in the morning. Remus had discovered that Stubby Boardman’s new band played at a bar every Saturday, which gave them a great excuse to get up close to him and maybe ask some questions. Sirius suspected things wouldn’t go well, finding it ironic that he was more afraid of getting hurt by a middle aged washed up rocker than he was an otherworldly ghost person.

They strolled into the bar like it was nobody’s business, ordering some beers at the bar while Stubby Boardman’s absolutely shitty band played atrocious covers of eighties rock songs.

“This is bad,” Sirius said.

“Painful. At least it probably helps the patrons get drunk. Great for business,” Remus commented.

“Maybe. Not very packed in here,” Sirius replied.

“Fair enough,” Remus said.

The performance seemed to go on forever, finally ending with a Def Leppard cover before Stubby went over to the bar. Remus and Sirius waited for him to get his beer before coming over to greet him.

“Greetings. I’m Sirius Black and this is my associate Remus Lupin,” Sirius said, extending a hand to Stubby.

“Fuck off. I’m not gay, I don’t believe in Jesus and don’t want to buy whatever you’re selling,” Stubby said, walking away.

Remus and Sirius both looked at each, frowning before they chased after him.

“No, we just wanted to ask a question,” Sirius said.

“I don’t care,” Stubby replied, sitting down.

“We’re… amateur ghost hunters,” Remus revealed.

“Pal, I don’t care who you are. I’ve just played a great set and I want to sit here and enjoy my beer in peace,” Stubby said, giving them a warning glare.

Sirius gulped but said, “It’s about Doris Purkiss.”

“What about her? What does she want? She took the kid, I’ve been paying her alimony and child support for fuckin’ years, what does she want next? Should I sell my soul so she can get a new car?” Stubby snarled then took a big gulp of his beer.

“Uhh… We’ve never met her. We were hoping you could tell us about the twenty four hours in which she disappeared at the Grey Bird Inn,” Remus said.

Stubby glanced at them both then set his beer down.

“Oh. That,” he replied, frowning.

“I was just wondering if you knew what happened,” Remus said, sitting down across from Stubby.

“Fine. I’ll answer your questions, then you best get the hell out of here or I’ll get you thrown out. Yeah, I know what happened. She was having an affair. She was the one who wanted to go down there. Told me there was this real nice inn down in Central Oklahoma, yada yada. We get there and in the middle of the night I wake up and she’s fuckin’ gone,” Stubby said, made a whistling sound then said, “Out of sight.”

“And then what?” Sirius said, taking the other seat at the table.

Stubby laughed and said, “Well, I reported her missing in the morning. I was terrified. I thought she’d been kidnapped or something. She was barely twenty years old and so pretty. And sweet.”

Stubby seemed sad. He looked down and shook his head,” It was a small town. They searched all over and couldn’t find a sign of her at all. I thought she was dead. I really did. But then that night… she just knocked on our room door and I let her in. Like it was no big deal.”

“And she never told you where she went?” Remus asked.

“Nope. She did not. I knew she was cheating. We had a fight. A real bad one. We left to go back to Wichita in the morning. We stayed together for a few more years. Had our daughter then she fuckin’ divorced me. Since then we haven’t seen or talked much outside of things relatin’ to the kid. There. That’s all I know.”

Remus and Sirius shared a glance and nodded.

“Thank you,” Remus said and they left the bar.

“What now? We’ve learned nothing,” Sirius said.

“Now we’re going to pay Doris Purkiss a visit,” Remus said.

“Wait,” Sirius said, grabbing Remus’s shoulder and making him face him.

“Let go,” Remus snapped and Sirius did.

“Listen. We’re going too far. We can’t go around interrupting people’s lives for our own fucking benefit,” Sirius said.

“Tell me you don’t want to know what happened,” Remus said.

“Of course I do but… this doesn’t feel right,” Sirius said.

“Maybe it’s not right. But Sirius… dammit, that journal is the only thing that’s been keeping me going. I need to know why James and Lily Potter thought Uncle Sirius would know about ghosts,” Remus said.

Remus looked desperate and sad. Sirius sighed and nodded, deciding to acquiesce.

* * *

 

At Doris Purkiss’s house they were greeted by a friendly cat on the front porch.

“Hey kitty,” Sirius said, leaning down to pat its head, the cat vigorously purring and pressing its head against his palm with affection.

Remus, meanwhile, knocked on the door. Shortly the door opened, a teenage girl with long black hair just like Stubby Boardman’s appearing with a smile.

“Hi,” she said.

“Hello. Is Doris Purkiss here?” Remus asked.

“Mama. There are some men here,” the girl said, shouting into the house.

Seconds later, a short woman with curly blonde hair and glasses appeared. Stubby was right about one thing, Sirius thought. She was pretty.

“Yes, can I help you?” she asked.

“Yes, Ms. Purkiss, we are writing a book about roadside attractions and were wondering what you could tell us about the Grey Bird Inn,” Remus smiled.

Doris glared at Sirius and said, “Edith, honey, go back inside.”

“All right, mama,” her daughter said and did as requested as Doris closed the front door and stepped onto the porch.

“OK, what’s this really about. Don’t bother lyin’ to me. Give it to me straight,” Doris insisted, folding her arms over her chest in resolution.

“Twenty years ago you disappeared for an entire day. What happened?” Remus asked.

Doris laughed.

“Wow. Here I thought my ex-husband sent you boys. But, no, I don’t want to talk about that. It’s been a long time. Best to leave the past where it lies,” Doris insisted.

“Are you aware that you are haunting the inn?” Sirius asked.

Doris adjusted her glasses, squinting at Sirius.

“Did you know you look a lot like Stubby? I mean, not now. He’s really let himself go. But he used to be pretty like you,” Doris said, grinning from ear to ear.

“Ms. Purkiss-“ Remus started but she put a hand up at him.

“Fine. I’m curious. What do you mean I’m haunting Grey Bird Inn? I haven’t been there in twenty years,” she said.

“We stayed there for three nights. The first two nights we encountered a… specter that looked just like you from twenty years ago,” Sirius said.

“No shit?” Doris gasped.

“No shit,” Remus replied.

“OK. Let’s sit down,” Doris said, leading them over to a long bench perched beneath a large window.

The three of them sat down on the bench, Doris between them both.

“You boys aren’t really writing a book, are you?” Doris asked.

“No, we aren’t. That was a lie. Sorry,” Remus said.

“Nah, it’s fine. At least you’re honest liars. Anyhow, I grew up a couple of towns over from there. I was a shy girl. A bookworm my friends called me. And they were right. When I was fourteen a friend moved to that town and I stayed with her most of the summer,” Doris said.

Doris’s face was covered with nostalgia and warmth. These were good memories.

“Um… I know you boys aren’t gonna believe this next part but I swear it’s true,” Doris said with a soft chuckle.

“Ma’am, if you knew the things we’ve seen-“ Remus started but Doris groaned.

“Don’t call me ma’am. Hell, I’m probably younger than either of you. Just call me Doris, please,” Doris insisted.

“Fair enough,” Remus apologized.

“Now, as I was sayin’. I was stayin’ with a friend down there. She took me to the inn said there was this funny rose garden I just had to see. And she took me there. We walked into the garden and then _poof_ ,” Doris said, making an explosive gesture with her hands.

“Poof?” Sirius said.

“Yeah, poof. There was a flash of light and then… we were on a beach,” Doris said, smiling and looking up into the sky.

“Umm. Where was the beach?” Remus asked.

“On another world,” Doris said, biting her lip with satisfaction.

“Well, that’s neat,” Sirius said stupidly.

Doris laughed and said, “You’re damn right, it was neat. My friend, of course, knew all about it. She’d met some boy from that world. He’d brought her over and now my friend had brought me over. And then I also met a boy. He was so handsome. It was like he had leapt right out of a romance novel. He was smart and funny. Took me ridin’ on his horse.”

“Jesus,” Remus gasped.

“All summer long we kept going back. Like a fool at the end of summer I told that boy that someday I would come back and marry him. But then… my parents moved away. We moved up to Wichita. I lost track of my friend.”

“I’m sorry,” Sirius said.

“It’s all right. It’s been a long time. I met Stubby when we were both nineteen. He wasn’t like my fantasy boy from the other world… but he wasn’t half bad. He was sweet and charming. Could sing like an angel. He was kind. Made me laugh so hard it hurt. We married the next spring. I told him about that inn. Said I read about it in the paper. I just wanted to go back one last time. Tell the boy I wasn’t coming back,” Doris said, looking sad.

“I’m guessing things didn’t go like you expected,” Remus said.

“No. They didn’t. See I had forgotten somethin’. That summer when I was fourteen… time didn’t pass the same over here as it did over there. A day for us was like a week or so for them. You can imagine that in six years… well, a lot of time had passed over there. My boy was now a much older man. He was married and had a family. He could remember my face but… he couldn’t remember my name. That hurt. My friend was there too. She had gone back and married her boy. She got her fairytale life and I… got Stubby.”

Sirius didn’t know what to say, looking at Remus for guidance but he just looked sad.

“Oh, don’t be so glum. Stubby was real. I barely even knew that boy. He was cute as all get out but I don’t think I ever coulda had that life. So I went back to Stubby, prepared to tell him how much I loved him now that I had made peace with that part of my life. I even I had a real good lie prepared but… Well, I was gone longer than I thought. I thought I was just gone for a few hours. Fat chance. I go upstairs and Stubby can’t believe I’m alive and he’s demandin’ to know where I’ve been.”

“So you told him nothing?” Remus asked.

“What the hell could I have told him? I was just gonna tell him I went for a walk. I sometimes get real anxious in my sleep and get up to walk it off. But I was gone for a goddamn day! So he said I was cheatin’ on him. Maybe I shoulda just told him but… I couldn’t. He never woulda believed it. Not in a million years. Of course, he didn’t think Edith was his. He still doesn’t. He reminds me almost every month.”

Doris looked wounded. Sirius couldn’t imagine the pain of having the man you love turn on you like that. He hoped he would never have to. Doris wiped under her eyes and Remus handed her a tissue from his jacket.

“Thank you. Listen, would you boys like to come inside. Let me serve you some tea. Havin’ someone to talk about this stuff with… is nice,” Doris said.

Remus nodded at Sirius who nodded at Doris in turn.

“Oh, goody. Listen, ya’ll can’t say nothin’ to Edith,” Doris said, standing up.

“No worries, Doris,” Sirius said.

“Oh… and by the by… you said you met… a specter?” Doris asked, looking apprehensive as she wiped some more at her eyes.

“We did. She disappeared into the rose garden. The next night she didn’t return. I think she’s gone now,” Remus said.

Doris’s mouth hung open and she said, “So what do you ‘spose that means?”

“I think… some part of you was lingering there. Some sort of… magic tied to that other world. She just needed to find her way back to the garden,” Remus said.

“That was… two nights ago?” she asked, looking serious.

“Yeah,” Sirius said.

“Shit. Two nights ago… I dreamt about that other world. I can’t remember it well now but… It was beautiful and sad. I cried when I woke up. I felt stupid. I hadn’t even thought of it in… months. And then all the sudden just, wham! Out of nowhere,” she said.

“Maybe this will bring you peace,” Remus suggested.

Doris touched both of their arms.

“Thank you. Let’s go inside and get that tea,” Doris said, leading them to the front door.

* * *

 

“So, what do you think?” Remus asked as they got in the car.

“I like her,” Sirius said.

“Me too but that’s not what I meant,” Remus replied, putting the key in the ignition.

“I think we still don’t know why James and Lily Potter thought Uncle Sirius… assuming I even am Uncle Sirius, would be the man to talk about ghosts,” Sirius said.

“I agree. We have not seen a ghost,” Remus said, putting the car into drive and flipping on the radio.

“Please tell me you aren’t going to drag me to more haunted houses,” Sirius said.

“Nah. We’ll do something different,” Remus said.

“Like what?” Sirius said.

“It’s a surprise,” Remus chuckled.

“You’re a bastard, Remus Lupin. I hope you know that,” Sirius declared.

“Yep,” Remus said proudly at they carried on, headed to their next adventure.


	3. Take the Money and Run

They were stopped in a diner in a small town in Iowa when Remus came back from the bathroom, slapped a flyer down on the table and said, “Look at that.”

Sirius flipped it over, quickly scanning it. It was a flyer for some new-agey healing done by local couple.

“A hundred dollars to stay in their house and let them… realign your chakras or read your horoscope? Pass,” Sirius said.

“Aw, come on. It could be fun. The last couple of cases have been so serious. Why not take a day to relax and have a laugh? Besides, maybe we’ll learn something. You never know,” Remus said.

Sirius squinted at Remus.

“Are you high? Did you smoke pot in the bathroom?” Sirius said, sliding the flyer back across their table to Remus.

“No. Listen, I’ve been on the road a while. It’s been lonely. It’s good to have some company. These last few weeks have been… interesting. And honestly, I stop into places like this all the time,” Remus said.

“You realize that flyer says it's for couples only,” Sirius said.

“Yeah. I saw that,” Remus laughed.

“We’ll have to pretend we’re a couple for an entire day and night,” Sirius said.

“I took theater as a teenager. I’m a little rusty but I can act,” Remus said.

Sirius took the flyer back from Remus. The couple looked like fairly harmless new-age hippie weirdos. Maybe it would be good for a laugh.

“Which one of us is gonna pay?” Sirius said.

“I’ll pay. It’ll be worth it… Darling,” Remus said, reaching over to touch Sirius’s hand.

“Fuck off,” Sirius laughed, pulling his hand back, even though in truth under different circumstances he would be into it.

Remus called the couple as soon as they left the diner, making an appointment for the following day.

“They tried to act like they were squeezing us into a tight schedule. I know these types. They weren’t busy. They are probably jumping for joy at the chance to swindle us,” Remus said.

“Funny seeing you act the skeptic,” Sirius commented.

“I can believe a lot of things but there are some dishonest people in this world. Nah, these types are just trying to make money. Some of them do believe their own bullshit but lots… they are just con artists,” Remus said.

“And we’re the fucking idiots who are going to let them scam us,” Sirius said.

“No. I’m the idiot. You’re just the idiot following the other idiot,” Remus said, winking at him.

* * *

 

“Welcome,” a woman with a big bush of wavy brown hair said as she opened the door.

She was dressed in what appeared to be witches robes, cleavage exposed and a pentacle necklace around her neck.

“Hi,” Remus said.

“Come in. My name is Adela Darkstar and this is my husband, Tim,” she said, gesturing at a tallbespectacled man who looked at least ten years older than her who was dressed quite plainly in a light blue button up shirt and beige slacks.

“Hi. Hi,” Tim said, shaking both Remus and Sirius’s hands.

“Welcome to the Darkstar Experience,” Adela said, gesturing to their living room which was covered in all manner of new age decorations, candles and incense.

Sirius coughed, immediately feeling overwhelmed by the incense in the air. Adela lead them over to the large rug in the center of the room, which was surrounded by a veritable mountain of pillows and cushions, including four large cushions around the inner circle of the rug.

“So comfy,” Remus said, looking far from genuine.

“Thank you!” Adela said, seeming proud.

“It’s really great to have you fellas here,” Tim said, as they all sat on the center cushions.

As they sat down Remus grabbed Sirius’s hands, lacing their fingers together. Sirius had almost forgot they were going to have to spend twenty-four hours pretending to be married. A few weeks earlier he might’ve found the idea appealing but now that they knew each other it just made him uncomfortable. He can understand why Remus’s no romance policy existed. If he was ever to unlock the secrets to the mysteries of his life he needed Remus’s help. A messy romance would help no one.

But still. Remus would be an ideal partner… in another life, he thought.

“You’re not married,” Adela observed.

“Oh, because no wedding rings?” Remus said, holding their joined hands up together.

“Oh, no. I’m a bit of a psychic. I mean, I don’t like to brag but,” Adela laughed.

“She freaks _me_ out sometimes!” Tim offered, laughing a bit too loudly.

“No, we’re not married,” Sirius admitted.

“What else can you tell us about ourselves?” Remus asked.

“I can tell you are very passionate men. I don’t mean to be indelicate but your relationship is… a _very_ physical one, isn’t it?” Adela said, touching her chin with a black painted fingernail.

Remus smiled at Sirius, feigning embarrassment as he said, “Wow. She really sees us, doesn’t she, darling?”

Sirius laughed and said, “Yeah. It’s uncanny.”

“You both work with your hands don’t you. Strong men. Gripping and lifting things,” Adela said, gesturing openly at them.

“Oh, Sirius is great with his hands,” Remus winked, forcing Sirius’s mouth to drop open.

“I’m in construction,” Sirius laughed, though he wanted to point out that most jobs required one to work with their hands in some capacity.

“I’m a plumber,” Remus said.

“Good at unclogging pipes, I bet,” Adela cooed.

“You know it,” Remus said but squeezed Sirius’s hand almost painfully.

She was definitely irritating Remus but he wasn’t letting her see it. Sirius again remembered how little he knew about Remus. Maybe Remus really was a plumber. Though also Sirius supposed it was possible he was a construction worker of some sort. He didn’t think so. But when he tried to remember his profession things got hazy.

“This is a fairly new relationship, isn’t it. A whirlwind romance?” Adela suggested.

“God. God! How does she do it, Sirius?” Remus said, acting completely astonished.

“The mind boggles,” Sirius replied.

“Oh, I just wanted to let you boys know that if the two of you need anytime alone you are free to retreat to the guest bedroom. And that includes any hanky panky,” Adela winked.

“Oh, uh, thank you. You know how it is. Sometimes we just can’t control ourselves,” Remus said, squeezing Sirius’s hand even harder, making it hard for him not to shout in pain.

“Tim and I are the same way. If you boys weren’t here right now we’d be reenacting every porno imaginable,” Adela said.

“Good to know,” Sirius laughed.

Adela chuckled then said, “All right. Enough chat. I’ve made breakfast. Don’t worry, it’s vegan and gluten-free.”

Adela and Tim stood up. They looked so ridiculous incongruous in appearance that it was hard to see them as a couple but they were certainly eyefucking each other in the moment, as Remus and Sirius got to their feet.

“Come this way,” Adela said, gesturing with a finger.

* * *

 

“That breakfast was hideous,” Sirius complained as soon as he and Remus were alone in the guest room.

“Completely. Turn around, I’m going to change into this… whatever it is,” Remus said, picking the white outfit off the bed Tim and Adela had left for them.

Sirius just grunted and picked up his as well. It felt like something that was better suited for martial arts, not the guided meditation to realign their chakras they were about to partake in.

“I swear if she brings up sex one more time I’m going to run screaming from this place,” Sirius said, pulling off his jeans.

“Yeah. I’m worried they’re going to try to recruit us for group sex. Or partner swapping,” Remus grumbled.

“I call dibs on Tim if we have to partner swap,” Sirius joked.

“I refuse to even dignify that with a response,” Remus grumbled.

Moments later they were both dressed and headed down to their den where Middle Eastern music was playing. The guided meditation did help Sirius feel sleepy so he supposed that was something. After the guided meditation they did offer to let Remus and Sirius take a nap but they both declined. Sirius was increasingly feeling like they were wasting their time.

They next offered them some tea. Sirius actually liked green tea but Remus only barely masked his displeasure while Adela read them their horoscopes and told their fortunes.

“Remus. You are in for a career change. You’re thinking of going back to college, aren’t you? It’s never too late,” Adela said.

Remus smiled big, his mouth hanging open.

“She’s right,” Remus said.

“You’re thinking of going back to college? How could you not tell me?” Sirius pretended to be shocked.

“Sorry. I was just waiting for the right moment,” Remus apologized.

“And Sirius. You’re thinking about children. Don’t worry. He’ll come around,” Adela winked.

Remus smiled at Sirius, tilting his head as if he found it adorable. Sirius blushed, wishing he could run and hide.

“Before you both leave in the morning I will offer a final, joint prophecy to take with you. For now, let’s have dinner, shall we,” Adela said.

Dinner was cooked by Tim and was only marginally better than their breakfast. Sirius longed for this pointless experiment to be over but Adela and Tim insisted on dragging them to the living room where she had placed a stupid, ugly brown stone on a metal plate filled with a small amount of water.

“So, before we all go to bed, we’re going to say a blessing. Let’s all touch our fingertips to the rock,” Adela said.

Sirius would’ve done anything to bring this day to an end and had no problem with complying. He and Remus both reached over, placing their fingertips opposite of Adela and Tim. The stone felt surprisingly warm to Sirius’s touch.

“Oh, blessed Goddess. Watch over these men. Let us all be as one, interchangeable and the same. Let their rest be good and let them wake up renewed on the morrow,” Adela said.

She then smiled at them, perhaps expecting them to be impressed.

“Well, off to bed!” Tim said.

“Oh. Well, great!” Remus said and began to stand up.

Remus and Sirius wasted no time getting back into the guest room, both closing and locking the door.

“My God, what a weird day,” Sirius said.

“Indeed. I’m not even sure they are charlatans. I think maybe they are just incompetent. They might be that rare creature that actually believes their nonsense,” Remus said, stretching as he climbed into bed.

“Oh. You don’t want to like… face different directions?” Sirius said, gesturing at the bed.

“Don’t be ridiculous. Don’t worry, I’m not going to try to snuggle you. We aren’t pretending in here,” Remus said, and rolled away from Remus.

“All right,” Sirius said and climbed into bed after him.

Sirius naturally found getting to sleep difficult. Not only had the day’s experiences left him feeling unsettled but there was an attractive but distant man in bed with him. Occasionally Remus, who was quickly sound asleep, would bump into Sirius’s leg or foot and that didn’t help matters either. He was almost certain he heard a wolf howling several times, which was odd.

Distantly in the house he heard the sounds of Adela and Tim having sex. It seemed to last for hours. At one point it stopped, only to begin again just as Sirius thought he might be able to get to sleep.

Eventually, tiredness did fall over him. Sleep often felt a bit like falling but somehow it felt even more so that night.

* * *

 

Something immediately felt off as soon as Sirius woke up. He almost instantly realised two things: one, he was naked and two, he was in a different room. He turned to look beside him and found the peacefully sleeping naked figure of Adela laying not only next to him but her leg draped over his leg.

“Ah!” Sirius shouted, hopping out of bed.

He was definitely in Tim and Adela’s room. It was decorated even more obscenely new-agey than the rest of the house.

“Hmm?” Adela said then opened her eyes and screamed.

“Ah!” Sirius screamed back.

“What the fuck?” Adela screamed, sitting up.

“I was just about to ask you the same fucking thing!” Sirius screamed.

“Oh my God!” Adela shrieked, looking at herself.

She hopped up from the bed and ran over to the long mirror perched in the corner of the room.

“What the fuck?” she screamed, then started looking around, possibly for clothes.

“What the hell is going on?” Sirius asked then started to walk over, finally catching himself in the mirror, seeing Tim’s face staring back at him.

“They’ve switched bodies with us, obviously,” Adela said and it finally clicked in Sirius’s brain.

“Remus?” Sirius said at the person who very much looked like Adela.

“Yep. In the flesh… just not _my_ own flesh,” Remus said.

Remus had successfully found robes to cover himself up. Sirius dug around and found Tim’s glasses and some robes for him.

“Let’s go find our hosts and give them a piece of our mind,” Remus snarled.

“It’s really unsettling hearing your tone come from her voice,” Sirius said.

“You’re one to talk. It’s funny but you make Tim seem cool,” Remus snarked.

“You’re saying you think I’m cool?” Sirius said.

“Don’t get a big head,” Remus said then marched in front of the guest room door, banging on it.

“Adela! Tim!” Remus said.

There were mumbles behind the door followed by screams. In an instant, the door swung open, Sirius finding being greeted by himself utterly bewildering. They all four just stood in the doorway for a moment, staring at each other in shock.

“What the fuck?” Remus said.

“I’m sure Adela can explain,” Tim in Sirius’s body said, gesturing at Adela who now was in Remus’s body.

“Oh no, honey, I’ve got nothing. Uh… nothing like this has ever happened,” Adela said.

“Do you fellas want a refund?” Tim asked.

Adela shot him a glance.

“Only kidding!” Tim said.

“We don’t care about a refund. We want our bodies back,” Remus snapped.

“OK. Let’s all go to the bathroom and then meet up in the living room,” Adela said.

They all shrugged and dispersed.

* * *

 

Shortly, they were all back in the living room. Adela and Tim had dressed themselves in Remus and Sirius’s normal clothes, which was weird but Sirius didn’t want to fight. He and Remus were still in bathrobes.

“So, please don’t be mad at me,” Adela begged

It was strange seeing Remus looking so vulnerable. Based on the look on the way Remus in Adela was looking at Adela in Remus, it was even stranger for him.

“We’re not mad. Well, we _are_ but that’s not the primary concern,” Remus explained.

“I get that. I just… really don’t understand what happened and I don’t know how to fix it,” Adela cringed.

Remus sighed, covering his face with his hands.

“It was probably the stone, right?” Sirius suggested and Adela laughed.

“Oh, God, no. I’m gonna level with you. That’s just some dumb thing Tim picked up at flea market. He was so happy I didn’t have the heart to tell him he’d spent a hundred dollars on a stone that probably is worth a tenth of that,” Adela laughed.

“What?” Tim said, astonished.

“Sorry, honey. It’s junk,” Adela frowned.

“That’s sweet, though. Really,” Tim said, his hand reaching over to touch Adela’s cheek.

She then leaned over and kissed him, Sirius watching in shock, seeing what otherwise appeared to be him and Remus sharing a tender moment.

“Um, could you not?” Remus asked.

“Oh, shit! Sorry! I am so, so sorry! For all of this,” Adela said, gesturing around with her hands dramatically.

“I understand that this wasn’t an act of malice. We just need to figure out how to reverse it,” Remus said.

“What if we can’t?” Tim said.

Adela looked at him stunned.

“I’m just saying! Maybe we can’t. What do we do if we can’t? What the heck will we tell our family and friends?” Tim said.

“Focus,” Remus said, snapping his fingers.

“Right. Focus,” Adela said, blinking rapidly.

Sirius was amazed by how calm Remus was being considering the circumstances. He really was an impressive man. Funny, that even in a different body Sirius found him attractive. He spotted Adela out of the corner of his eye, watching him check out Remus in her body.

“I saw that,” she said, grinning.

“What?” Tim and Remus said at the same time.

“Listen, if you boys like want to experiment with our bodies before we switch back I don’t think me and Tim would mind. It’s the least we could do for you under the circumstances,” Adela offered.

“You must be joking,” Remus said.

“Sorry, your hubby looked kinda thirsty. Funny, he didn’t look at me the way he’s looking at you,” Adela said.

“Let’s be honest here, Adela. Sirius and I are not really a couple,” Remus said

Tim loudly gasped and Adela hit him in the arm.

“I knew that, of course,” she said.

Remus gave her a skeptical look but she changed the subject quickly.

“Let me see what happens when I touch the stone,” Adela said, dramatically reaching forth and placing her palm directly on the stone.

“What do you feel?” Tim asked.

“I feel… a cheap piece of shit stone my husband paid too much for,” Adela groaned, pulling her hand away.

Remus glanced at Sirius, then over at Adela and Tim, looking like he was in deep thought.

“Let’s all put our hands on the stone again. Adela… say something. Like the opposite of what you said last night,” Remus suggested.

“Oh, All right,” she replied and they all placed their fingertips on the stone.

“Don’t be nervous. Things can’t get any worse than they already are,” Sirius said, knowing that probably wasn’t true.

“Oh, Goddess. We thank thee for thy blessing but now it is time for our unity to end. Let us separate. Our time of renewal has ended,” Adela said and Sirius blacked out.

* * *

 

Sirius opened his eyes, looking over to see Tim and Adela making out across from them, back in their own bodies. He tapped Remus awake.

“Shit. That was fast,” Remus said.

“Sorry,” Adela said, kissing Tim again then saying, “It just feels good to be back.”

“I bet. Now about that refund…” Remus said.

“I thought you didn’t want it. I mean… I’ll give it if you want it,” Adela said, standing up.

Tim also stood up and Sirius forced himself to look away as Tim was visibly aroused beneath his robes.

“Sorry. I’ll go… Uh,” Tim apologized and ran out of the room.

“Can I just write you a check?” Adela said.

“That won’t be necessary. Give us the stone and we’ll call it even,” Remus smiled.

“Oh. Really? I mean it’s really just garbage,” Adela said.

“Well, I have a friend who’s a collector. And it has a weird story attached now,” Remus laughed.

Adela frowned but shrugged.

“Yeah, all right. Take it. But you boys stay in touch. This was… an interesting experience. It’s a shame you weren’t more open to… exploration,” she giggled.

“Maybe another time,” Remus said, hardly sounding truthful as he picked up the stone.

Remus and Sirius gathered up their things then headed out to their car.

“I can’t believe we’re just leaving without figuring out what happened,” Sirius said.

“The answers aren’t inside there. I have theories but… Well, this is the first time it had ever happened. We just happened to show up. And you and I both know that we aren’t… normal,” Remus said, opening the trunk of the car and wrapping a towel around the stone.

“You think we made the stone work?” Sirius said, wandering around the passenger side.

“If I’m being honest I think it was you. But I don’t understand why,” Remus said, getting in the car just as Sirius sat down.

“Well… all right. This is damn confusing,” Sirius complained.

“Yeah. It is. That’s life now, isn’t it?” Remus chuckled, starting the car.

“But… What are we going to do with it?” Sirius asked.

“I don’t know. Maybe we’ll find someone who knows what it is. For now, we carry on to Lake Michigan,” Remus said.

“What’s in Lake Michigan?” Sirius asked.

“Not in Lake Michigan. In Wisconsin. I don’t know. There’s been some weird reports. Mysterious deaths,” Remus explained.

“Sounds dangerous. What fun,” Sirius laughed and they carried on.


	4. Dancing in the Moonlight

“The news says last night another man was found mauled in the woods. An animal, perhaps a large dog, had tore into his neck,” Remus said.

“Werewolf?” Sirius suggested.

“Bingo,” Remus replied.

“When we were in Iowa I heard some howls. It was kind of weird,” Sirius said.

“Wolves do exist,” Remus said.

“Yeah but… we saw that werewolf attack the Bigfoot in Texas,” Sirius said.

Remus laughed.

“These killings have been going on for weeks,” Remus said, closing his laptop.

They were in a hotel in a town on the shore of Lake Michigan in Wisconsin now. On the outskirts of town in the woods is where the mysterious deaths had been occurring. Something about this place spooked Sirius even though it seemed like a pretty harmless town on the surface. Something threatening was here. Sirius could feel it.

“I thought werewolves needed a full moon?” Sirius asked.

“I assumed so but I didn’t know for sure. I haven’t exactly sat down and interviewed one, have I?” Remus grumbled.

“Maybe we should go back to Iowa. You seemed less grumpy there,” Sirius joked.

“I’m not grumpy. I’m… pensive,” Remus smirked, forcing Sirius to laugh.

“So, I suppose we’re traipsing off into the woods tonight to see if a werewolf wants to snack on us,” Sirius said.

“Close. We’re traipsing off into the woods tonight to see if a werewolf wants to snack on you!” Remus pointed out.

“Fuck. Aren’t you worried there will be another incident like with Doris Purkiss and her specter being able to see you?” Sirius said.

“Yes. I’m not an idiot,” Remus said.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Sirius winked and Remus pulled the pillow out from behind him, chucking it at Sirius.

Sirius caught it, laughed and threw it back at him. Remus also caught it then leapt up from the bed, running over to swat him directly in the face with the pillow. Sirius barely reacted to getting hit in the face with the pillow. Remus did it a couple of more times and Sirius only laughed.

“Are you done?” Sirius asked and Remus tossed the pillow back onto the bed with a shrug.

“Yes. Now you listen here, no more acting like a child!” Remus wagged his finger.

“God, are you going to send me to my room?” Sirius rolled his eyes.

“Thinking about it,” Remus winked then said, “Let’s go get some lunch. We’ve got a long night coming up.”

* * *

 

“We’re just a couple of guys, traipsing through the woods, holding hands and waiting to get eaten by an overpowered puppy,” Sirius said.

“I can let go of your hand if you want. Go it alone if you like,” Remus joked.

“Fuck off,” Sirius laughed.

“That’s what I thought,” Remus said.

A howl echoed through the woods. Remus and Sirius stopped in their tracks, staring at each other.

“I’m going to let you go now,” Remus said.

“All right,” Sirius grumbled and Remus let go.

It didn’t take long for the pounding of paws to make a beeline straight for them, the large wolf landing in front of them, barely lit by the moonlight and growling.

“Uhhh. Remus!” Sirius said as the creature clearly made to leap at him.

Suddenly as the wolf jumped a second wolf dived, knocking the first one down, a tornado of fur, teeth and claws crashing to the ground.

“What do we do? Should we separate them?” Sirius shouted.

“No?” Remus asked, appalled.

“I don’t see you coming up with anything,” Sirius said and suddenly he heard sounds coming from behind them.

The larger wolf with silver fur, kicked the smaller wolf off, landing on all fours and growling at whatever was behind Remus and Sirius. Sirius slowly turned around to find three young women standing next to trees, weapons in their hands.

One of them fired a crossbow, the bolt glinting in the moonlight as the large wolf barely dove out of the way and then quickly escaped, the sounds of its paws pounding away from that part of the woods.

“She’s still there,” the woman with dark hair and pale skin said.

A taller black woman with long, tightly braided hair approached the smaller wolf slowly. The wolf growled at her so she stopped.

“Leanne,” the pale skinned woman said.

“Do you know her?” Sirius asked, gesturing at the wolf with a thumb.

“Shut up,” all three women snapped at him at once.

Sirius threw his hands up in apology as they approached.

“Careful, Katie,” the tall woman with the braids said to the pale woman.

“I am careful. Don’t forget I know her better than either of you,” Katie said as she ever so slowly approached the wolf with an outstretched hand.

Suddenly there was a sound somewhere in the woods that sounded like a branch falling from a tree and the wolf ran off.

“Dammit!” Katie shrieked and in a flash she was in front of Remus and Sirius.

The other two women were immediately there as well, glowering at them.

“OK. Who the hell are you two?” the tall woman with the braids said.

“Remus Lupin, supernatural investigator,” Remus said, extending his hand with a smile.

They all just frowned at him so he withdrew his hand.

“Sirius Black. I’m with him,” Sirius said, gesturing at Remus.

“That might not help you right now. Maybe you should save yourself and tell them you don’t know me,” Remus suggested.

“Right. Nevermind. I’ve never met this man in my life. I was just… out for a walk,” Sirius smiled.

“Shut up,” Katie said, turning sharply towards him, her eyes seeming to pierce through him.

“Alicia, go look for her while we interrogate these two,” the taller woman said.

The third woman disappeared in a flash, seeming to move a little faster than was humanly possible. Remus suddenly grabbed Sirius’s hand.

“Whoa. Did you feel that, Angelina?” Katie asked the taller woman.

“Yeah,” Angelina replied, sniffing the air in front of them.

Sirius didn’t move or say a thing.

“How did you do that?” Katie asked them.

Remus glared at Sirius, perhaps trying to will him not speak.

“Answer the question. You made yourself… it was like for a split second you didn’t exist,” Angelina said.

“You can see us?” Remus asked.

“Yeah. We can now, at least,” Angelina said.

Remus let go of Sirius’s hand and both women seemed momentarily startled.

“I’ve heard this. One of you has a spell on you. Actually… you both _smell_ really interesting,” Katie said, sniffing.

“Thanks. Remus said the cologne was a bit much for cryptid hunting in the woods but I thought, oh what the hell, live dangerously, Sirius!” Sirius laughed.

“Who are you? _What_ are you?” Remus asked.

“You’re not in the position to be asking questions. We’re asking the questions,” Angelina declared.

“We’re not going to answer anything. Kill us if you have to. You know we aren’t any threat to you and we don’t have any weapons so I’m not sure what you have to lose by just having a little chat with us,” Remus said smoothly.

“Fine. We’ll ask you a question, you answer then you can ask a question. Now. Who the hell are you two?” Angelina demanded.

“We’re supernatural investigators, just like he said. We read about some strange killings in the woods here so we decided to investigate. It’s not any more complicated than that,” Sirius said.

“Now, who are you?” Remus asked.

“I’m Angelina and this is Katie,” Angelina said, gesturing between them then saying, “We’re vampires.”

“Oh?” Sirius said like Angelina had just revealed they were carpenters.

“Not even a little bit impressed? Come on. That’s not fair!” Katie complained.

“We’ve been chasing after our friend. Leanne. She was turned, against her will, by that other werewolf,” Angelina said.

“Who is the other werewolf?” Remus asked.

“His name is Fenrir Greyback. He hunts supernatural beings. He’s a real monster. He was a terrible man before he was turned. The rumors are that he forced the wolf who turned him into doing it. Most werewolves are solitary and only hunt animals. They don’t bother humans or other supernaturals. But not Fenrir. He relishes in fear and terror,” Angelina said.

“Dammit. He was the wolf we saw in Texas, Sirius. The one who attacked Sasquatch,” Remus said, breathlessly.

“Sas-who? Did you just say… Sasquatch?” Katie asked astonished.

“Sasquatch is from the Pacific Northwest, not Texas,” Angelina declared.

“Seemed liked a Bigfoot to me. Maybe they migrate,” Sirius shrugged.

“Maybe. Hmm… It’s fortuitous that we’ve come across each other,” Angelina said.

The third woman, Alicia apparently, reappeared suddenly.

“Did you find her?” Katie asked, sounding desperate.

“No. I’m sorry. I lost her. I can small her scent but… I don’t know where she went. Probably in the opposite direction of Greyback,” Alicia said.

“Gentlemen, I assume you have a hotel room somewhere?” Angelina asked.

“Yes. We do,” Remus said.

“Care to invite us in for a chat?” Angelina asked, giving them both a toothy grin.

“Is that… uh… innuendo? Are we going to invite you in then you’ll eat us?” Sirius asked.

“No. Don’t be ridiculous. We could do that here if we wanted,” Angelina said.

“He does smell delicious though. Doesn’t he?” Katie asked, sniffing around Sirius.

Sirius froze, fearing at any moment she might rip out his throat.

“Sure. Now let’s go. Only so many hours left ‘till daylight, after all,” Angelina said.

* * *

“Hmm,” Katie said out of nowhere, from where she lay on the floor.

The three women had been remarkably quiet while Remus and Sirius sat eating in their hotel room.

“What?” Angelina asked, sitting on the edge of Sirius’s bed.

“I’ve been texting with some contacts,” Katie said.

“You text?” Sirius asked.

“Yeah? Geez, I bet you think we sleep in coffins and mausoleums too,” Katie rolled her eyes.

“Sorry. What was the reaction for?” Sirius said.

“I know some witches. They know about the spell on him,” Katie said, pointing at Remus.

Sirius narrowed his eyes at Remus. Remus had never told him how he gained the power to be invisible to the supernatural. He hadn’t told him much of anything at all. He wondered why he even trusted him. He thought maybe he had no other option.

“Oh?” Remus said, seeming disinterested as he picked meat off a chicken bone.

“She says it’s powerful stuff. Not something one has done accidentally. You must’ve gone through… a lot of trouble for that,” Katie said.

Remus shrugged.

“How _did_ you get it?” Sirius asked.

“Don’t worry about it,” Remus deflected.

Katie looked at Sirius and smirked, saying, “If what my friend says is true there’s probably a pretty good story behind that. She only knows of one person who has had it done before. It’s dangerous. It can only be done at an exact time and place. The weather has to be just right. And the witchcraft involved is advanced. There’s maybe a handful of witches on Earth who could do it and they wouldn’t do it for free.”

Sirius turned to Remus in shock. Remus glared back at him and said, “I’m not going to talk about it. It’s not your concern.”

Remus stood up, tossing his leftovers in the trash, looking annoyed. Sirius thought it was strange and worrisome but he didn’t want to push Remus further.

“We need to discuss a plan of action if we’re going to stop Greyback,” Alicia said, leaning against a wall.

“Stop? What do you mean stop?” Remus said, still looking annoyed.

“It’s a nice way of saying _kill_ ,” Katie replied.

“Jesus,” Sirius uttered.

“Trust us: we’ll be doing the world a favor. If you knew the things he’d done you’d be marching out into the woods with an axe right now,” Angelina said.

“That may be true but… Sirius and I have never killed anyone before,” Remus said.

“We’re not asking you to kill-“ Angelina started.

“I’m not saying I’m fully opposed to it. Just that… I’m not sure how we’ll we’d fare,” Remus explained.

“As I was saying: we’re not asking you to kill. We just want to use him,” Angelina said, pointing at Sirius, “as bait.”

“Me used as bait? What a shock. This is a new twist in my life and not at all a recent recurring theme, destined to get me killed,” Sirius groaned.

“You smell good. No… it’s more than that,” Katie said, hopping to her feet in a flash so quick Sirius felt like evacuating his bowels.

“Yeah. It’s like… an aura. If we can detect it… werewolf senses are even stronger,” Alicia said.

“Didn’t we kind of already do this tonight?” Sirius said.

“That was all unplanned. This time it will be a plan. You’ll go into the woods alone, with us distantly following. We’re fast enough to get there before he hurts you, we promise,” Angelina said.

“What about me?” Remus said.

“You’re staying back here. That spell you have on you makes him harder to sense, even if you’re just in proximity,” Angelina said.

“Remus, if this is all a setup and they just want to bite me, I’m going to come back and bite you,” Sirius joked.

“We’re not going to turn you. We don’t do that. None of us had a choice in this,” Katie said sadly.

“What happened?” Sirius asked.

“It’s a long story. We come from a town in Washington called Godric’s Hollow. We were on a road trip after finishing high school. All four of us. Stayed the night in the wrong motel. A vampire coven was in town and looking for new recruits. Said there was a real big war brewing and they needed new blood. They at first gave us a choice. But when we said no… they did it anyway. Except for Leanne. Leanne ran. She ran straight into Greyback who was following the coven,” Katie explained, the pain in her voice palpable.

“Greyback was hunting them,” Remus said.

“No. He was working with them. They gloated as they turned us. Said he was their attack dog. Any that got away were his and they considered becoming a werewolf to be a fate worse than death,” Angelina said.

“So, what’s it like?” Sirius asked.

“Being a vampire? It’s not so bad as long as you hate daylight,” Katie smirked.

“I miss the sun. I miss craving food that isn’t blood,” Angelina said.

“I miss feeling warm. It’s always cold at night,” Alicia said, rubbing her arms.

“Aren’t you already cold?” Sirius said.

“We do have a pulse. It’s just faint. When the blood hunger rises… when we experience desire of any kind our pulse quickens and we feel alive and warm. If only for a moment,” Angelina said.

“That’s neat. And also kind of terrifying,” Sirius said.

All three women laughed.

“Don’t worry. We can control our hunger. The hard part is because we’re not part of any of the covens the blood supply is thin,” Angelina said.

“How do you eat?” Sirius asked.

“Animal blood and volunteers,” Katie said.

“You don’t steal blood from hospitals?” Remus said.

Angelina scowled and said, “We’re vampires, not monsters. People need that blood.”

“So, what do you do? Just randomly go up to people and ask if you can snack on them?” Sirius joked.

“Let’s say there are people who know we exist. They know we need to feed to survive and that animal blood only gets us so far. Some give us blood freely. It will not surprise you to learn that some get… a sexual thrill from it. Others want to give the blood in exchange for money or other services,” Angelina said.

“What kind of services?” Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Protection. Revenge. Sex,” Angelina shrugged.

“Revenge?” Sirius gasped.

“Don’t worry. We take everything on a case by case basis. And we have powers that… let us know if someone is lying,” Alice grinned.

“Cool. So, let’s talk this plan,” Sirius said, resigning himself to the role of bait once again.

* * *

Nearly a day later Sirius found himself alone in the woods. He was in any entirely different spot than he and Remus were in before. Tonight was the actual full moon and the ladies had explained that on the full moon the wolves lose a bit more of their humanity. Which meant, strangely, that Greyback was less dangerous as the heart of the monster lie in the man not the wolf.

Sirius was certain he had been sitting out there for nearly two hours, skipping stones at a pond. Once he heard a howl but it had been silent since then. Just as he was beginning to think there was going to be no danger that night, he saw reflected in the water of the pond two bright wolf eyes. He looked up and saw the silver beast snarling at him.

“Gulp,” Sirius said and got to his feet as the beast leapt across the pond.

There were several flashes, all three of the ladies grabbing the wolf and pinning him to a tree. Faster than Sirius’s eyes could follow they were wrapping chains around him, pinning him to the tree. The beast tried to break free, snarling and barking at them but he couldn’t move.

“There. We wait until daylight. I want to look in his eyes… his true eyes as he knows death,” Angelina said.

Suddenly, something knocked Sirius to the ground. He could feel teeth at the back of his neck. There was a flash that flew leaves and dirt around and the second wolf was pinned against a tree.

“Leanne. We’re sorry,” Katie said as they tied the smaller wolf up as well.

“You going to kill her too?” Sirius asked.

Katie gave Sirius an angry glance.

“God, no. We want to help her,” Alicia said.

Sirius noticed Katie looked particularly sad, gently approaching the wolf that was Leanne, reaching out to touch her but being met with snapping teeth. Katie looked hurt, hanging her head down as she walked away.

“So, you guys sure the sun isn’t going to come up and you’ll all burst into flame? It would be a shame to burn this entire forest down. And me. I don’t want to get burned down,” Sirius said.

“We’ll be fine. It’ll only be for long enough to finish him off and talk to Leanne,” Angelina said.

“If you’re really worried you could let us feed on you,” Katie said.

“Uh… come again?” Sirius said.

“I’m just saying. We’re stronger after we’ve had something to drink. Especially… if the blood is tinged with magic. And there is definitely something… magic in you,” Katie said, sniffing in his direction again.

“She’s right, you know? You’re not fully human. Maybe some kind of… elf or faerie. I met a faerie once in Palm Springs. She was fun. _Intense_ but fun,” Alicia said.

“I’m not sure what to say. If I let you feed on me… will it hurt?” Sirius asked.

“Nah. Maybe a little at first. But something happens to make it feel good. And no, you won’t get turned. We’d have to give you our blood… and if you are some sort of fae… I don’t even think you _can_ be turned,” Angelina said, Sirius noticing the girls were all circling him.

He backed up nervously, putting his hands up.

“One at a time?” Sirius suggested.

“Sorry. The bloodlust gets a little strong. Katie can go first. Since it was her idea,” Angelina said.

“Fair enough,” Sirius said, sticking his neck out, thinking this was absolutely mad.

Katie began to float off the ground, moving up high enough for easy access to his throat.

“Fuck,” Sirius groaned as she sunk her teeth in.

He screamed at first but as they said it quickly began to feel euphoric. It was over faster than he expected. After waiting a half hour Alicia took her turn and then after another half hour Angelina went. By the end of it Sirius was left feeling dizzy but dreamy, like he’d smoked some pot.

“He’s lying, you know?” Katie said, lying on the ground and staring up at the moon.

“Remus, you mean,” Sirius said.

Katie nodded.

“I don’t even have to put a glamour on him to know that. I’m not sure if I would trust him,” Katie said.

Sirius sighed. If he wasn’t so spaced out at the moment he would probably feel stressed. He supposed he would deal with that problem when it came.

An hour later and the sun began to rise, both wolves beginning to change forms, the ladies loosening the chains. The smaller wolf turned into a woman with short blonde hair. The larger silver wolf became an older man who frankly looked scarier as a human than he had as a wolf.

Katie went over to Leanne, touching her face.

“Hey, Kate,” Leanne said.

“Hey. I’ve missed you,” Katie said and to Sirius’s surprise gave her a kiss.

Greyback groaned.

“If you’re going to kill me get it over with. If you have the guts,” Greyback said coldly.

Gladly, Angelina said, pulling her crossbow from the sack on her back and pointing it at his head. Sirius suddenly felt like he shouldn’t be here for this.

“No. Let me do it,” Leanne said, Katie already in the process of removing her chains.

Angelina shrugged and handed the crossbow to Leanne, who was completely naked and covered in scratches and chain marks.

“This is for everyone you’ve harmed. All the children you’ve hurt. The people you’ve turned against their will, most of whom haven’t been able to survive. This is for me,” Leanne said and fired a silver arrow right into his forehead.

Sirius wasn’t sure if he was more disturbed that he’d just watched a man get executed or more disturbed that it didn’t really bother him.

“Well… That’s that then,” Sirius said.

All four women turned to look at him.

“Who is he? And why does he smell so good?” Leanne asked.

“C’mon. Let’s all get back to our hotels. We’ll catch you up,” Angelina said, yawning.

* * *

Sirius hadn’t felt like talking when he got back to the hotel. Whatever background doubts he had about Remus Lupin had been brought to the surface. He was also feeling strange about the reveal that something inside him wasn’t human.

“When are you going to tell me your story?” Sirius asked as Remus was changing shirts the following morning, his back facing Sirius.

“When the time is right. I have a lot of fears. I’m not sure if I should trust you. You aren’t completely human. Maybe you’ve been lying,” Remus said.

“I’m Uncle Sirius in your little book. Did you forget?” Sirius asked, standing up.

“Whose to say that the Potters were good people?” Remus said coldly.

“Do you think they were bad people?” Sirius probed.

Remus shook his head.

“No, I don’t,” Remus said.

“Then if they were good… I must be good too,” Sirius said, feeling relieved just saying it.

“Unless you aren’t really Sirius,” Remus said, glancing back at him.

“Don’t be ridiculous. I don’t know much but I know who I am,” Sirius grumbled.

“Maybe,” Remus said.

“They told me you’re lying,” Sirius said.

“Did they?” Remus asked, turning around to glare at Sirius.

“Yeah. You’re not telling me things. Should I trust you?” Sirius said.

“What choice do you have?” Remus smirked.

Sirius clenched a fist, momentarily wanting to go over and punch Remus in his beautiful face.

“I have a choice… and I have no choice,” Sirius sighed.

“I’m sorry. I can’t tell you anything yet. It’s too soon. You’ll understand. I have doubts,” Remus said.

“So do I,” Sirius said.

“Then we’re in the same boat,” Remus said.

Sirius sat down on the bed, feeling defeated. Fate had won this day.

“So, where are we going next?” Sirius asked.

“Small town in Wyoming. Katie gave me a contact for a witch out that way. I want her to look at the spell that’s on me. And I want to see if she can find out what you are,” Remus said.

“Fair enough. I wasn’t doing anything else,” Sirius said, throwing up his hands.

“Glad you see it my way,” Remus said, finishing the buttons of his shirt.

“I do. For now. But if you really want me to trust you… you are going to have to open up,” Sirius said, standing and walking over to Remus.

Remus frowned and nodded.

“I will. I promise,” Remus said, sticking out his hand.

Sirius shook Remus’s hand and said, “Then we have a deal.”

Sirius pulled away, scratching his neck. He thought this would all be easier if he didn’t think the man was so damned handsome.

“Remus… I’ve been trying to remember something. What was the name of the town the ladies said they were from?” Sirius asked.

Sirius looked at Remus who was just blinking and staring at the wall.

“I don’t remember. I guess I wasn’t paying attention,” Remus said with shrug, seeming unconcerned.

“That’s funny. Because I was going to look it up. But as soon as she’d said it… it was gone,” Sirius said, deciding this might be another mysterious bit of his new reality to cope with as the road carried on.

 


	5. Already Gone

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning for discussions of suicide and domestic violence.

Wyoming was ugly and boring as far as Sirius was concerned. The little town they found themselves in consisted of no more than a few small neighborhoods of small houses sectioned off by brown picket fences. The yards were surprisingly green considering the rest of the local scenery was quite dry.

“A witch lives here?” Sirius asked as they opened the gate, slowly walking up to the little white house that seemed extraordinarily ordinary.

Remus knocked on the door. The door opened and a tall, brightly smiling woman with shoulder-length dark hair and wearing a comfy looking dark-blue dress answered.

“Hi! Come on in,” she said, gesturing inside.

“No introductions?” Sirius asked.

“No need. I know everything about you both already,” she winked.

“You’re a psychic?” Sirius said.

She laughed and shook her iPhone at him.

“Nope. Just been texting with Katie all morning. Though you two do seem strangely familiar. Sorry. I’m being impolite. I’m Meghan. Meghan McCormack,” she said, sticking her hand out for them both to shake in turn before she closed the door.

“Nice place you have here. Very homey. Doesn’t seem like a witch would live here,” Sirius said, marveling at how plain but cozy her decor seemed.

She had countless bookshelves but the contents seemed mundane. Romance novels, mystery novels, biographies, science books. Every topic you could imagine but magic.

“Thanks. I’m curious what a witch is supposed to be like. You guys have seen some stuff. You should know better,” Meghan said, walking into her kitchen where she appeared to be making some tea.

“Sorry. So, how long have you been a witch? Were you born into it or?” Sirius asked.

“No. My family was Jewish. Well, my mother was Jewish and my father converted. It’s a long story. We were secular anyhow. I never really believed in magic. But then about seven years ago… something happened,” Meghan said, whisking four mugs over to a table, then gesturing at Remus and Sirius to come over.

“You were visited by a fairy godmother in the night who brought you a magic wand,” Sirius suggested with a twirl of his finger.

Meghan laughed.

“Your boyfriend is funny,” Meghan said, smiling at Remus who coughed.

“Uhhh. We’re not… uhhh,” Sirius stammered.

“I’m just messing with you. Though you would make a cute couple. The tall, sarcastic one with the whole long-haired bad boy vibe and the quiet one who is actually the really dangerous one,” Meghan winked.

Sirius just blushed and said, “So, you were telling us your backstory. Oh, thanks for the tea.”

Sirius sniffed the tea. It smelled like lemon.

“Lemon-ginger,” Meghan said as if he had asked then continued, “Well, see that’s the thing. Seven years ago… Some stuff happened but… This is gonna sound strange but I can’t remember it. But something did happened. It changed my life. I quit my job. Moved out to New Mexico. I became obsessed with magic. Not in a bad way. More like a fun sort of nerdy way. I wanted to see the light beneath the world. I met some witches. Dabbled in some covens. Experimented. I lived in Scotland for a year, that was neat. Then I moved to Godric’s Hollow. That’s where I met those girls, of course.”

“What was that? What did you just say? The town,” Sirius said.

“Godric’s Hollow,” she repeated.

Sirius stared at her dumbfounded. He had just heard her say it twice and he couldn’t remember it. At all.

“Can you write it down?” Sirius begged.

Meghan set her tea down and hopped up from her chair, going over to grab a pen and pad from an end table. She set it front of him and slowly wrote it out in clear, distinct writing.

“See: Godric’s Hollow,” Meghan smiled, gesturing at the paper.

Sirius could read it. He could repeat the name in his head over and over. He closed his eyes, trying to think the name in his head. He couldn’t do it. It was like it had been erased.

“Is there a problem?” Meghan asked and Sirius looked at her.

“I can’t remember this name,” Sirius said, pointing at the paper.

He glanced at Remus who looked genuinely freaked out.

“Like… you mean to say that whenever you look away it disappears from your memory? That’s funny. You see, Godric’s Hollow is gone,” Meghan said sitting back down and sipping her tea.

“What do you mean it’s gone?” Remus said.

“It doesn’t exist anymore. It’s really more like it never existed. I can remember it. Sort of. And the girls you met also sort of remember it. I went there a year ago. I wanted to see if I could navigate whatever spell but whatever that is… it’s old magic. It would’ve swallowed me alive if I had gone any further,” Meghan said.

“So, you weren’t there when… whatever happened happened?” Sirius asked.

She shook her head.

“No, I had already moved out here. I wanted to be near my sister. Which is literally the only reason someone would move out to a dust town like this I can think of,” she said.

“So, if we wanted to go to… umm… this place,” Sirius said, finding himself unable to say the words but continuing, “You could take us there. To where it used to be.”

“Yeah. I could. But what would be the point? It’s not there,” Meghan said, sipping her tea.

“What if we paid you?” Remus said, surprising Sirius.

“Damn, I was gonna do it for free but I won’t say no to some cheddar,” Meghan laughed, taking a bigger sip of her tea.

Sirius finally took his own sip of the tea, finding it was quite nice.

“Name your price,” Remus said, pulling out his wallet.

Meghan made a small smile, closing her eyes and setting her cup down.

“My price is this: Help me save my sister from being killed by a haunted doll,” Meghan said then sighed.

“Uhh… Come again?” Sirius said.

“Yeah, sorry. So, umm… the whole thing Katie told you about me knowing about the spell that’s on you. That was… how do I put this _gently_ … That was… a complete and utter fucking lie,” Meghan smiled.

Remus groaned.

“Why us? Why not ask Katie and her friends to help you?” Sirius asked.

“They are good friends but they are vampires. Kind of limited in the day, you know. And they’ve got Leanne to deal with now. It’s awkward. The two of you can just… fake having your car breakdown in front of my sister’s house. My sister will probably call me because she knows I’m good with cars,” Meghan grinned, seeming very pleased with herself.

Sirius looked over at Remus, both of them seeming unsure what the hell had just happened.

“I mean you don’t have to or anything. I said I would help you for free. But I was sort of hoping you might help me out. You’ve got this whole Supernatural or X-Files thing going on. Which one of you is Mulder? You’re totally the Mulder, right?” Meghan said, raising a hand to high five a completely bewildered Remus.

“The X-Files is a classic,” Sirius said, touching a hand to his heart as Remus reluctantly high-fived Meghan.

“So, do we have a deal?” Meghan asked, sticking her hand out.

“No. I want to know more. Tell us about this… evil haunted doll,” Remus said.

“I didn’t say it was evil!” Meghan said, raising a hand in defiance.

“Is it evil?” Sirius said.

“Well, yeah. Probably. But I dislike the presumption that things being haunted means they are evil. Plenty of hauntings are benign,” Meghan explained.

“Please. Just tell us about the doll,” Remus urged.

“My brother in law bought it at a yard sale back east. The family he bought it from said they had bought it France or something. It’s a pretty nice doll. Victorian. Or maybe Edwardian? I can’t tell the difference. The point is, he got it suspiciously cheap and brought it home to his family. Some weird stuff started happening around the house,” Meghan said.

“Like it randomly slamming doors at night?” Sirius said.

“That and also stuff like my sister finding my brother in law hanging from second floor railing,” Meghan cringed.

“Oh. God. I’m so sorry,” Sirius said, reaching out to touch her hand but she pulled away.

“Eh. He wasn’t so great. I guess. I didn’t really know him that well. He rubbed me the wrong way. But he’s dead now. I looked up that doll. It has a history of weird occurrences. Running around at night. Creating mischief. Some suspected murders but nothing concrete,” Meghan said.

“So, what are we supposed to do? Steal the doll. Destroy it?” Remus said.

“Steal it. Bring it to me,” Meghan said.

“I guess we have a deal,” Remus said, reaching over to shake her hand.

“Awesome. Cool. I’m excited!” Meghan grinned.

* * *

 

“I’ll call my sister. She knows about cars,” Meghan’s sister said, pulling out her phone.

A young child sat on the stairs that lead to the second floor holding a doll. Sirius felt chills knowing what had happened to the girl’s father in this room. He wondered if that doll was the one they were looking for. If so it might be hard to pry the doll away from the child.

“Meghan. This couple broke down in front of my house. Can you come over and look at their car? Yeah. Uh huh. Thanks!” Meghan’s sister said, apparently hanging up the phone.

“I take it that went well,” Remus said.

“Yeah. She’s on her way. I’m Heather by the way,” she said and shook their hands.

Heather’s hair was lighter than Meghan’s and she was a little shorter but otherwise she very much resembled her sister.

“Nice to meet you,” Remus said.

“I’ve just made a pot of coffee if you’d like some,” she offered.

The little girl ran over, holding the doll out and saying, “Eric wants to say hello.”

Sirius bent down, smiling at the old, finely crafted wooden doll.

“Nice to meet you too, Eric,” Sirius said, shaking the doll’s hand.

“Natalie loves that thing,” Heather said, sounding uncomfortable.

“Can you blame her? That’s a fine doll. Looks valuable. A family heirloom, perhaps?” Remus asked.

“Nah. My late husband found it at a yard sale. Bought it for a buck if you can believe it,” Heather laughed.

“Sorry for your loss,” Sirius said.

“Oh. Thank you. So, how about that coffee?” Heather said, obviously wanting to change the subject.

They took her offer of coffee. Meghan arrived shortly after, pretending like she had been in the middle of something so as not to arouse suspicion.

“I can fix it. By the morning,” Meghan said, standing in the foyer of her sister’s house.

“What do we owe you?” Remus asked, reaching for his wallet.

“Twenty bucks is fine. I like working with cars. Just pay me in the morning,” Meghan said.

“We’ll need to find a place to sleep,” Sirius said, pulling out his phone.

“Don’t be ridiculous,” Heather said then clarified, “You can stay here.”

Remus and Sirius glanced at each other, pretending to be surprised.

“I suppose. If it’s not an imposition,” Remus said.

“None at all. Dinner will be at six,” Heather smiled, leaving the room.

“So, let’s go look at that car, shall we?” Meghan said.

They followed her outside and she quickly asked, “How is it going?”

“We’ve met the doll. It looks like a doll,” Sirius said.

“Damn, you two are some mighty fine detectives. Forgive me for saying this but you might be able to go pro someday,” Meghan teased.

She circled around to the back of Remus’s car, placing her hands on the trunk.

“What?” Remus said.

“What’s in there?” Meghan said.

Remus glanced at Sirius, showing his surprise.

“Spare tire. Some tools. A weird magic stone that lets you steal someone’s body. The usual stuff,” Remus said.

“Weird magic what-now?” Meghan said, her face lighting up.

“A few weeks ago we decided to investigate this odd hippie couple who were offering an overnight stay at their house intended to heal your soul,” Remus said and went over to open the trunk.

“Woah,” Meghan said as the trunk swung fully open, her eyes fixed on the stone.

“They said this prayer thing on the stone and accidentally made us switch bodies with them,” Sirius explained.

“Accidentally? Dude. There’s no such thing as accidental when it comes to magic. Can I touch it?” Meghan asked.

“Just don’t ask us to touch it with you and we’re good,” Remus said, stepping back.

Meghan picked up the stone, slowly spinning it around in her hands with a big grin on her face. She then shrugged and placed it back in the trunk.

“What is it?” Remus asked.

“It’s a faerie stone. A powerful one,” Meghan said, her tone becoming a bit more sober.

Sirius gulped, remembering that Alicia had said he smelled like an elf or a faerie.

“So, that couple just accidentally bought a faerie stone?” Remus said, rubbing the back of his head and looking confused.

“Doubtful. Faeries are known for playing long games and being able to predict the future. And they don’t let faerie artifacts slip around all willy nilly. If the two of you are in possession of it… There’s probably some faerie out there who planned this. Knew it would happen. And there’s something else… the only way to activate a faerie stone is to have it be touched by someone who is a also a faerie,” Meghan said, looking back and forth between them.

It was true, Sirius thought. He was a faerie.

“I’m guessing neither of you is going to confess to being a faerie,” Meghan said.

“I… I might be a faerie,” Sirius admitted, raising a hand, shocking himself.

Remus sighed but didn’t look at Sirius.

“You don’t know?” Meghan said.

“It’s… it’s complicated. I have amnesia. Look, maybe you could tell me. Do some magic on me,” Sirius pleaded.

“Maybe after,” Meghan said.

“Hey, guys,” Heather said, making all three of them jump.

“Christ on a bagel,” Sirius muttered, his heart pounding as he whirled around to smile at Meghan’s sister.

Meghan quickly closed the trunk.

“Just wanted to see how it was going,” Heather said.

“Good. It’s going good. I’ve got to go actually. But I’ll be back,” Meghan said and casually strolled back to her car.

“Want some more coffee?” Heather asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Remus said and they all went back in the house.

* * *

 

“Natalie, what did I tell you about bringing that doll to the dinner table?” Heather said.

“Eric doesn’t like it when I leave him alone,” Natalie said.

Heather gave her daughter a stern glance and Natalie got out of her chair, sulking as she went to put the doll down elsewhere.

“So, what do y’all do for a living?” Heather asked.

“Carpenter,” Sirius said.

“Plumber,” Remus said, the both of them apparently having decided to stick to the fake stories they had told Tim and Adela.

“What brings you out this way?” she asked as Natalie arrived back at the table, still sulking.

“Just passing through,” Remus said, cutting into his steak.

“Really? Where ya headed?” she asked.

“Washington,” Sirius replied.

“Hmm. People just don’t usually come through here. But we’re glad to have you, anyhow,” she said.

Remus smiled at her and Sirius nodded. They ate the rest of the meal mostly in silence. They had questions they needed to ask Heather but they couldn’t ask them in front of the child.

After dinner they sat in front of the TV and watched a movie with Heather and Natalie. Sirius fell asleep, his head on Remus’s shoulder. When he awoke the movie was over and Heather was coming back from putting Natalie to sleep.

“You awake, sleepy head?” Remus asked Sirius, patting the top of his head.

Sirius grumbled in response, about all he could manage.

“So, now that Natalie is asleep I feel like we can talk about things more openly,” Heather said, gesturing at them with her hands.

“Go right ahead,” Remus suggested.

“The car thing is bullshit. My sister sent you here to spy on me, didn’t she?” Heather said, her tone getting stern very quickly.

Sirius quickly sat up, Heather having his full attention.

“What makes you think that?” Remus replied.

“I’m not stupid. No one just passes through here. And you broke down right in front of my house? I wasn’t sure until Meghan came over but… look, I know my sister isn’t like most people. Years ago she disappeared and when she came back… she was different. She’s never been the same,” Heather said.

“Where did she disappear to?” Remus asked.

“I… I don’t remember. That’s not important. Just listen… I know she sent you here. I just want to know why,” Heather said.

Remus shrugged and said, “She wants us to steal the doll.”

Heather laughed and said, “The doll? Why?”

“She thinks it’s haunted,” Sirius said.

“I mean, it is. It _definitely_ is but it’s not dangerous,” Heather said.

Just then Sirius was startled by the sounds of tiny steps. At first he thought it was Natalie but he turned around to see the doll, Eric, standing proudly with them in the living room.

“Well, that’s completely terrifying,” Sirius said as the doll’s wooden head slowly turned his direction.

“It’s fine, Eric. Don’t worry. They mean me no harm,” Heather insisted.

The doll kept it’s gaze on Remus and Sirius nonetheless.

“What the hell is going on?” Sirius asked.

“Heather, did this doll kill your husband?” Remus said.

Heather hung her head and sighed. She then looked back up and said, “No. No, he didn’t. I did. I killed my husband.”

“Jesus,” Sirius gasped.

Remus seemed to be speechless. Heather shook her head,”I didn’t want to. I wanted him to leave. He… did terrible things. He would hurt me while Natalie was asleep. For years. I just couldn’t get rid of him. He told me if I tried to divorce him he’d kill me and Natalie then burn the house down with all of us in it.”

“My God. I’m so sorry,” Remus said.

Heather wiped at her eyes and continued, “I couldn’t take it anymore. So I poisoned him. He figured it out and came after me. Even dying he nearly got a good punch into my left eye. Eric… Eric didn’t know. Natalie was sleeping and Eric showed up with a bed sheet. Wrapped it around his neck and pushed him over the railing. And that was it.”

“So, Eric did kill him?” Remus said.

“The coroner concluded the poison was the cause of death. He was already gone by the time his neck snapped. I thought for sure they would arrest me… but they never did. I think Meghan might’ve done something. I’ve never had the courage to ask. I guess if she thought it was the doll she might’ve been protecting me,” Heather said.

Remus turned to Eric and said, “Eric, we’re sorry for thinking you were evil.”

The doll just nodded. Sirius had a sudden desire to leave town immediately.

“So… what now?” Sirius asked.

“Now we go tell Meghan that the doll isn’t evil,” Remus said.

“Are you going to tell my sister that I murdered my husband?” Heather asked, sounding desperate.

“We need a favor from her. She wants us to bring her the doll. She wants to destroy it,” Remus said.

“Destroy it? No, you can’t!” Heather said.

“Alternately, we can tell her the truth,” Sirius suggested.

Suddenly Eric leapt onto the sofa, jumping into Remus’s lap, still standing tall.

“Umm,” Remus said and the doll went limp, falling into a heap on his lap.

“What the fuck?” Sirius said.

“Oh, no. No, Eric,” Heather said, holding a hand to her mouth, seeming shocked.

“What just happened?” Sirius asked.

“He’s… offering himself to you. I… I think maybe… I think maybe he’s saying he’ll let you destroy him to protect me,” Heather said, sounding horrified.

“Eric… I don’t know if I can go through with that. I don’t think it would be ethical,” Remus said.

Suddenly Sirius began to hear something. It sounded like singing. The voice was pleasant and far away. Almost angelic. He couldn’t understand the words but he knew what was being said. He started to cry.

“What’s happening?” Heather asked.

“Don’t you hear it? Don’t you hear the singing?” Sirius asked.

“No,” Heather and Remus said, almost simultaneously.

“I think it’s Eric… He says… he’s lived a long life. He was once a man. He was killed by his own father. The housekeeper bound him to the doll. She was fond of him. He’s… ready for it to all end,” Sirius said.

The singing stopped and everyone was silent. The doll didn’t move. Heather got up and picked the doll up from Remus’s lap, holding it to her chest like it was an infant.

“Thank you, Eric. I’m sorry… for your life. And for your sadness,” she said, kissing him on the forehead then handing him back to Remus.

“Eric… don’t worry. I will make sure… Meghan finds a way to unbind you from the doll. I won’t let her kill you,” Remus promised.

* * *

 

Back at Meghan’s they told her everything about the doll, Heather’s husband’s abuse and that the doll saved her, leaving out the part about Heather having poisoned him. Meghan held the doll in her hands, looking confused.

“There’s something not completely adding up with your story but… you did what I asked. I will take you to Godric’s Hollow,” Meghan said.

“What are you going to do about the doll?” Remus asked.

“I’ll unbind him. I still don’t know much about the afterlife or ghosts. Can’t be certain that’s even a real person in the doll. But whatever it is… if it wants peace, I’ll bring it to it. I need some time to prepare. You two can just… do whatever,” she said, getting up, doll in hand and dashing off to another part of the house.

“Sirius… will you come outside with me. I need to talk to you,” Remus said.

Sirius nodded and followed Remus out the front door.

“What’s up?” Sirius asked.

“I need tell you something before we go… to that place,” Remus said, his eyes looking around everywhere but at Sirius, seeming very nervous.

“Go right ahead,” Sirius said.

“When you showed up in Texas I couldn’t believe it. Not only because your name is in the book… but because you were just like me,” Remus said, finally gazing into Sirius’s eyes.

“You mean we both like men?” Sirius grinned.

Remus laughed and shook his head.

“That’s not what I mean. I mean… your memories. They’re gone… just like mine,” Remus said, the smile fading from his face as he looked away.

“You have amnesia too,” Sirius said, realization dawning.

Remus nodded.

“That… makes so much sense,” Sirius said.

“This is why I can’t tell you about myself. Because I don’t know. And I’m not even in the book. I don’t know how I came by it. But I think… I’m meant to bring the book to Harry Potter. I don’t know why… It’s… a feeling,” Remus said.

Sirius thought about what Meghan said about faeries. They play long games and can predict the future. Perhaps this is all part of a faerie’s plan.

“Then maybe I’m meant to help you. Bring the book to Harry. Find our memories. Save… that place with the name that, dammit, I still can’t remember,” Sirius said.

Remus chuckled then walked over to Sirius, extending a hand.

“Are you with me, partner?” Remus asked.

“Wouldn’t miss it,” Sirius said, clutching his hand.

For a moment they held there, gazing into each other’s eyes. Sirius wondered if he should lean over to kiss him. He really wanted to. Would there be much harm in that? Unfortunately, he didn’t get to answer that question as the front door opened.

“Hey. I’m ready to unbind the doll, lovebirds,” Meghan said.

Remus and Sirius both laughed, pulling their hands away and walking up the steps. The unbinding was less dramatic than Sirius expected. She had provided a cushioned wooden box for Eric to lie in as she said some words over him. Their was a flash of orange light and it was done. Just like that.

They then went into her backyard and helped her dig a hole so that Eric could be buried. She covered the box with cloth then she set it in the hole, covering it with dirt once again.

“Farewell, sweet prince,” Remus said.

“Really, dude?” Meghan asked.

“Someone had to say it,” Remus shrugged.

“Tomorrow we head to Godric’s Hollow. Are you guys jazzed? I’ve had an idea,” Meghan said, smiling proudly and raising her hands.

“Oh?” Sirius asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah. It involves the stone. See, I tried to find out what happened to Godric’s Hollow but I’m not nearly powerful enough. The magic that made it disappear is big, old and ancient. I think it might be faerie magic,” she said.

“The stone,” Sirius said, realizing.

“That stone coming into your possession probably isn’t an accident. Maybe this is how the town gets unlocked. With my help you can use the stone,” Meghan said, smiling at Sirius.

“Is this just a trick to switch bodies with me?” Sirius said, deciding to just ask the obvious.

“No. But ooo, that’s a good idea!” Meghan said, sticking her tongue out.

Remus rolled his eyes and Sirius shook his head.

“No. Don’t worry. I think that was a one time thing. I won’t touch the stone while you touch it. I’ll just… give you a magic boost. It’ll be cool. I promise,” she said.

“You’re missing memories too,” Remus said, looking at Meghan.

She nodded.

“Why are we all missing memories? It can’t be a coincidence,” Sirius said.

“It’s not. But hard to say why it’s happening until we can remember what it is we’ve forgotten,” Meghan said.

“Well, I guess we better rest up then,” Remus said.

“We should plan to hit Seattle by tomorrow night. And the morning after… we’ll go to Godric’s Hollow. This will be… interesting,” Meghan said, and headed back inside her house.


	6. More Than a Feeling

It was morning in Seattle. Sirius stretched, checking his phone. Water was running. Remus was in the shower. Sirius had a weird feeling about today. They were going to… that place. The one with the name he couldn’t remember. He felt like everything was about to change.

Minutes later Remus popped out of the bathroom, wearing nothing but a towel around his waist, the bastard.

“Your turn,” Remus said.

Sirius took his turn in the bathroom, imagining a different universe where he could invite Remus to join him, maybe fool around before they voyage to a town that doesn’t exist and get themselves killed. By the time Sirius was done with his shower, Remus was dressed and Meghan was waiting, sitting in the chair next to the window.

“Hey,” she said.

“Glad I didn’t walk out naked,” Sirius snickered.

“So, you’re OK with him seeing you naked, but not me? I’m not sure if I should be offended or not,” Meghan said.

Sirius shrugged, coming around to his bed in order to start putting on his shoes.

“I’ve got a good feeling about coffee. There’s a cafe around the corner from the hotel,” Meghan said.

“Meghan, it’s Seattle. There are cafes everywhere. _Every_ store has a cafe inside. Even the cafes have smaller, bonus cafes inside of them” Remus said.

“Cafeception,” she giggled.

“Fine. Let’s get coffee. I don’t have anything better to do, I guess,” Sirius said.

As they walked to the cafe, Sirius had the strangest feeling. He had no memory of ever living in Seattle but something about it was… very familiar, like he had walked these streets before.

The cafe was playing coverage of the presidential election. Sirius supposed he wasn’t registered to vote given his current state of existence. The democratic candidate, Kingsley Shacklebolt seemed like a good guy. Something about his opponent, made Sirius very uneasy. Far more uneasy than most Republicans and that was really saying something. There was something about his eyes…

They ordered their drinks and sat at a table. Remus pulled out the Potter notebook, setting it on the table.

“Have you ever just tried Googling to see who Harry Potter is?” Meghan said, picking up the book and flipping through it.

“Of course, I have. Sirius has too. He doesn’t seem to exist anymore than we do,” Remus sighed, taking the book back from Meghan.

“If he doesn’t exist then maybe Harry Potter is just like us. Living some amnesiac half life,” Sirius suggested.

“Here are your drinks,” the barista said, setting the three large mugs down on the table.

“Thank you,” Meghan said, smiling as she picked up her chai.

“By the way… did I hear one of you say Harry Potter?” the barista asked.

Sirius turned to look at the man inquisitively. He was tall, dark-skinned and wore glasses. Behind his glasses were the greenest eyes Sirius had ever seen before.

“Who’s asking?” Remus said, glaring at the man.

“Harry Potter,” the man smirked.

“No shit?” Meghan said, almost spitting her drink then saying, “I _told_ you I had a good feeling about coffee.”

Remus and Sirius both glanced at each other with astonishment.

“I’ve got a lunch break coming up. We should talk. Somewhere private. Hope you don’t mind if I bring backup,” Harry said.

“Backup? For what?” Sirius asked.

“In nearly a year and a half you’re the first people I’ve ever met who knew my name. There’s dangerous forces in this world. I can’t be sure I can trust you. I don’t even know your names,” Harry said, crossing his arms.

“I’m Sirius Black,” Sirius said, reaching up to shake Harry’s hand.

“Meghan McCormack,” Meghan said, also shaking his hand.

“Remus Lupin,” Remus said, reluctantly raising his hand to shake Harry’s but Harry froze, just staring at Remus.

“What?” Remus asked Harry, who was still frozen.

“Umm… nothing,” Harry obviously lied, shaking Remus’s hand.

Remus pulled out a business card from his wallet, writing on the back of it.

“This is our hotel room. Bring backup if you want,” Remus said.

“Thank you,” Harry said, taking the card and walking away.

The three of them seemed to struggle with knowing what to say until they went back to the hotel to await Harry’s arrival. He arrived just after noon, accompanied by a tall, scowling man with white-blond hair. He had a bag with him, which he set down on the floor next to a chair.

“Sorry. I didn’t want to say much at the cafe,” Harry said as the blond man closed and locked the door.

“Understandable,” Sirius said.

“So, who wants to go first?” the blond haired man said.

“They do,” Harry said, crossing his arms.

“I guess we do. Some time ago I woke up with no memory of… a great deal of my life. I found this notebook lying next to me,” Remus said, holding the notebook up.

“What’s in it?” Harry asked.

“It opens with a dedication from James and Lily Potter to their son Harry. It contains information on the supernatural. Werewolves, vampires, zombies and anything else you can imagine. It’s all in here,” Remus said, shaking the notebook in his hand.

“James and Lily. That’s my parents?” Harry asked.

“Don’t you know?” Sirius asked.

Harry shook his head.

“So, you’re like us?” Sirius asked.

“I do believe we’re the ones explaining ourselves right now. Your turn, Sirius,” Remus said.

“Ah. Well, I also woke up with no memory. In a town in Oregon. Found a name scrawled on a piece of paper. Lupin. That lead me to him. Turns out my name is in that book. I’m supposed to tell you what I know about ghosts,” Sirius said, gesturing at Harry.

“What do you know about ghosts?” Harry asked.

“Absolutely nothing,” Sirius said, throwing up his hands.

“Your turn,” Remus said, pointing at Harry.

“About a year and a half ago… I woke up alone on the side of the freeway. Had no memory of who I was or where I’d come from.I had that bag with me,” Harry said, pointing at the bag he’d brought in.

“What was in it?” Remus asked.

“Weird stuff. Magical items. Some things that looked like weapons. And… a book,” Harry said and knelt down to reach into the bag.

Harry pulled a book out of his bag and tossed it onto the bed, right in front of Remus. Remus’s mouth fell open and Sirius looked over with shock. The title of the novel was _Lovesongs in the Garden_. Based on the cover art is appeared to be some sort of fantasy gay romance novel, perhaps about elves or something. None of that was the shocking part. The author was the part that had clearly stunned them both. In big letters the author’s name read: Remus Lupin.

“How is this possible?” Remus said, picking up the novel and flipping through it.

“You just had this on you?” Sirius asked and Harry nodded.

“Published ten years ago. 2010. Jesus. It’s me,” Remus said, showing Sirius the back flap which featured a man who looked very much like Remus but younger.

“Remus… we’ve both searched for you extensively. Nothing comes up,” Sirius observed.

“I know. It’s like… something is wrong with reality,” Remus said.

“That’s putting it mildly,” the blond haired man said.

“Right. Who are you?” Sirius asked.

“My name is Draco Malfoy. I also woke up, right around the same time as Harry. No memories. I had a bag with some similar stuff to Harry. I had notes about things. The president. Alternate realities. Some names, including Harry’s,” Draco said.

“After waking up I hitched a ride to Seattle. I was able to figure out I had a bank account and I had a fair bit of money. I also… own some property. Which is where Draco and I have been living,” Harry explained.

“Once I got to Seattle and got settled it wasn’t hard to find Harry. He was… all over my notes. Figured he must’ve been a big deal to me. Like my best friend or something,” Draco said, smiling at Harry.

“Well, I’m glad you guys found each other. You said you just… turned out to own a home here?” Remus asked, looking very interested.

“Yeah. This big, weird old house up in North Seattle. It had furniture and everything in it. Looks like it had been sold to me years ago,” Harry said.

“Weird,” Sirius said.

“Very weird. And the basement… There’s something funny about the basement…” Harry said.

“Can you take us to this place?” Remus said.

“Have you forgot our mission?” Sirius said, turning to Remus.

“No. But this might be important. This young man has a book with my name and face on it. I want to know why. Will you take us there?” Remus asked.

“Yeah. We will,” Harry said.

“Glad to know people are checking for my opinion,” Meghan grumbled.

“Meghan, do you want to go look at this old house?” Remus asked her.

“Yes, please!” she laughed, standing right up.

“Guess, I’ve gotta tell work I got sick. This is too important,” Harry said, pulling out his phone.

Remus, Sirius and Meghan followed Harry and Draco in their car. It started to rain on the way there which only increased Sirius’s feeling of impending doom. The house looked quite old for the area. It was two stories and Victorian. A considerable porch welcomed them to the front door. Sirius felt that same sense of familiarity he had felt in Downtown Seattle earlier that morning.

The house looked surprisingly cozy, considering a couple of college aged men lived there.

“The two of you live in this big place alone?” Remus asked.

“Yeah. It’s good to have a space where we can talk about things. Roommates would just complicate matters,” Harry said.

“Have you guys been following the election?” Draco asked, closing and locking the door.

“A little bit. We’ve had other concerns. The supernatural world occupies our thoughts,” Remus said.

“Well, you should probably pay attention. Riddle is going to win re-election. And after that happens, things are really going to go to shit fast,” Draco said, then rushed upstairs.

“What is he talking about?” Sirius asked, gesturing upstairs with a thumb.

“Draco is kind of dramatic. But he’s not wrong. We haven’t been able to piece everything together but something big is going to go down in within the next year. We think… the place… the town… where we came from… We think it was a test,” Harry explained.

“Godric’s Hollow,” Meghan said.

“We can’t remember the name. It’s written down on some of Draco’s papers but… it’s no use. As soon as we look away, it’s gone,” Harry said.

Draco came stomping downstairs. He slapped a folder down on the sofa.

“It’s all in there. Unfortunately, my notes were kind of scattered. It has details about President Tom Riddle, death troopers, vampires and a war that’s brewing. He’s going to bring the supernatural world to the surface, open the gates to all realities and make the Earth his kingdom. At least… that’s what I believed before I lost all my memories,” Draco said with a sigh.

“What’s that sound?” Sirius said, feeling like his ears were ringing.

“I hear it too,” Remus said.

Sirius walked over to a door on the far wall, near the stairs.

“What’s behind this door?” Sirius asked.

“That’s basement. We keep it locked. There was a note here to keep the basement locked when I moved in. There’s something weird about it,” Harry explained.

“I wonder why,” Sirius said, his fingertips dragging over the wood.

Something on the other side of the door beckoned to him.

“Fellas. Priorities. Godric’s Hollow,” Meghan reminded them all, snapping her fingers with both hands.

“Right,” Sirius said, turning around.

“So, Harry. Draco… The three of us are headed to… that town. Where it used to be,” Remus said.

“See, it’s gone now. I’ve been there before. But these guys helped me out with a problem and they have this magic faerie stone… I think maybe I can use it to open Godric’s Hollow back up. Or at least find out what went wrong,” Meghan said.

“Faerie?” Draco said, sounding stunned.

“What?” Remus said.

“I have… in the folder I have… on one of the pages I have written down the word faeries and a question mark,” Draco said, sitting down on the sofa, looking strangely haunted.

“Meghan believes a faerie has been playing a long game. Influencing things,” Remus said.

“Is that good or bad?” Harry asked.

“Might depend on the faerie. Some are benevolent. Some are just playful and chaotic. And some are… Well, some are not so great,” Meghan said.

“So, you’re saying we might be walking into a trap,” Draco replied.

“Yup,” Meghan said.

“What if it’s my parents?” Harry asked.

“Are you a faerie?” Meghan asked.

“How the hell should I know? Go to the doctor and ask them if there are butterflies and poppies in my bloodstream?” Harry joked.

“You seem to have a skewed idea of what fairies are like. I’ll be back. I’ll grab the stone,” Meghan said, running out to the car.

“What’s her deal?” Draco asked.

“She’s a witch,” Sirius said.

“Witch? Ah. That’s cool, I guess,” Draco nodded.

She was back quickly, presenting the stone in front of Harry.

“Touch it,” she said.

“Excuse me?” Harry asked, blinking at her.

“C’mon, just touch the stone. It’s not a big deal. I promise we won’t switch bodies,” Meghan said.

“Switch bodies? Is that a risk?” Harry said, narrowing his eyes.

“No. Touch it,” Meghan insisted.

Harry looked over at Remus and Sirius confused.

“It’s a long story. You can touch the stone. It’s probably safe. Probably,” Sirius said.

Harry still looked apprehensive but touched the stone.

“What do you feel?” Meghan said softly.

“I feel… I feel… Like a fucking idiot who is touching an ugly stone,” Harry said, sighing and removing his hand.

“Well, shoot. Hey, how about you?” Meghan said, gesturing with the stone at Draco.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me,” Draco said, standing up anyway.

“Better safe than sorry,” Meghan pointed out.

“Yeah, whatever,” Draco droned, and placed a hand on the stone.

“Whoa,” Meghan said, her eyes going wide.

“How is it so warm?” Draco asked.

Sirius stared at Draco with wonder.

“Cool! You’re a faerie!” Meghan said and Draco pulled his hand away.

“So, what does that mean? Am I going to grow wings? Please tell me I’m not going to grow wings. I don’t think I could live with myself,” Draco said glumly.

“You will probably not grow wings. And don’t worry. You probably aren’t all fairy. I think if you were a full faerie… Well, let’s say that the stone might’ve gotten so hot that I’d be a crispy pile of ashes on the floor right about now,” Meghan beamed.

“Why is she like this?” Draco asked.

Meghan frowned and headed back out the front door.

“If it makes you feel any better, I’m a faerie too,” Sirius said.

“Not really, but thanks,” Draco grumbled.

“So, we go to that place, the two of you use the stone and… then a door opens to go inside,” Harry said.

“Or opens to let someone out,” Remus said.

“Maybe it’s still my parents. Maybe they are with a faerie,” Harry said.

“I hope you’re right,” Sirius said.

“So, you guys have been looking for me?” Harry asked, walking over to the sofa.

“Sort of. We’ve been researching. I have a blog. There’s a lot of strange stuff out there. We were hoping we could find answers that way,” Remus said.

“Never did find any real ghosts. We’re supposed to find some so we could find out why I was supposed to tell you about ghosts,” Sirius said, gesturing at Harry.

The front door opened as Meghan reentered the house.

“Well, I don’t know that I need to know anything about ghosts but maybe I will eventually,” Harry said.

“OK, so I talked to the girls. They should be ready to go as soon as its dark,” Meghan said.

“The girls?” Draco asked.

“Vampire gang. Alicia, Angelina, Katie and Katie’s werewolf girlfriend, Leanne. Oh and they have another vampire friend they are bringing. Her name is Pansy. She’s cute but kind of intense,” Meghan said.

“Pansy,” Draco said, hanging his head and looking disturbed again.

“You didn’t tell us you were bringing the vampires,” Remus said, sounding annoyed.

“Well, duh. What the fuck are we supposed to do if we get attacked by a faerie? Are the four of you going to fight a faerie? I don’t think so,” Meghan said.

“She’s right, Remus. I can’t fight my way out of a paper bag,” Sirius said.

“I bet you could. I’ve gotten to know you pretty well,” Remus winked at him.

“So, we should get moving. About an hour drive to get there,” Meghan said.

“Fair enough. Are you guys in?” Remus asked, standing up.

Draco and Harry looked at each other and nodded.

“Yeah. We’re in,” Harry said and shook Remus’s hand.

* * *

 

The sun was just setting as they arrived to the place where that town was supposed to be. They had to abandon the highway and drive a good ways down a winding, wooded road. Meghan told them to pull over when it was time, then they got out of their cars and walked into a dirt path in the woods.

“Up here is where it’s sensitive. Magical spots lend themselves to entrances to other worlds and dimensions,” Meghan explained.

“A while back Remus and I met a woman who had once traveled to another world because she found this magic spot in a rose garden,” Sirius said.

“Exactly. Magic sinks into the earth, taking hold in the roots. It’s in everything,” Meghan said, kneeling on the ground and setting the stone down.

“The ground is muddy. Aren’t you worried about your dress?” Sirius asked Meghan.

“Hush,” Meghan said.

Just then there was a flash of light somewhere in the woods.

“Whoa. What the fuck was that?” Draco asked.

“Glad, I’m not the only one who saw that,” Sirius said.

Suddenly, the vampire girls appeared next to them in a whoosh of air.

“Hey,” Katie said, waving.

“Sup,” Angelina said.

“Yum, I smell faerie,” Alicia said.

“Is that what that is?” the fourth girl asked.

The fourth girl had an air of Elizabeth Taylor to her. She was shorter than the others and quite pale with very dark hair and bright red lipstick.

“This is Pansy,” Katie said.

“So, I heard that you guys don’t remember this place either,” Pansy said, thumbing into the woods.

“Nope,” Harry said.

“Cool. That’s cool. I woke up not far from here about a year and a half ago,” Pansy said, walking over to Harry and Draco.

“Really?” Harry asked.

“We knew you,” Draco said, not as a question but as a definitive statement.

“Did ya? Cool,” Pansy said, with a toothy grin.

Pansy seemed thrilled but Draco looked uncomfortable. Unfortunately, there was no way for Sirius to privately inquire at the moment. Elsewhere in the woods there was another bright flash.

“Holy shit,” Angelina said, looking around.

“What the fuck is that?” Alicia added.

“Something is transporting through dimensions near here. Probably a hub for supernatural activity thanks to the town being trapped here with some real powerful magic,” Meghan said.

“Leanne is roaming around, keeping watch with her wolf senses. She’ll howl if there’s danger,” Katie said.

“Good to know,” Remus said.

“OK, let’s get this show on the road. Sirius and Draco come over here and hold this stone together, right in front of where I’m standing,” Meghan said, getting to her feet.

The two men walked over, taking the stone from her, which was now a bit muddy from being on the ground. The stone immediately got warm, bordering on too hot to hold.

“Does the word ‘ow’ mean anything to you?” Draco snapped, glaring at Meghan.

“Don’t be a big baby. Just hold on. Time to channel some magic. This might get intense,” Meghan said as she began to move her hands in front of the stone, her fingertips mere centimeters away.

She moved her hands in precise, fluid motions, showing amazing control and deftness. Slowly her hands began to glow, the light extending to the stone which also began to glow, getting even warmer.

“Ow,” Sirius said.

“Yeah… Uhhh…” Draco said.

Sparks began to explode from the empty space in the woods next to them. There was a rumbling that echoed from nowhere and a red glow that formed like a jagged slit, curving upward from the ground up towards the sky.

“Everyone be ready. I’m not entirely sure what’s about to happen,” Meghan admitted.

“This is a great time to admit that, Meghan-“ Sirius started but suddenly the stone exploded, sending them all flying away from the red glow.

There was a horrid screech like nails on a chalkboard and the crunching of broken glass. Sirius looked up to see reality seem to bend as a figure clawed out from that other place through the gap that had been created. They all stood back up as the woman stood there, surveying what was before her. She had silver streaked dark hair, heavy-lidded eyes and looked equal parts tired and angry. Her gaze fixed on Sirius and she grinned.

“Cousin. You came to release me,” she said then turned towards Draco and said, “Oh, you brought my nephew too. Delightful.”

“Who are you?” Harry asked.

“Oh right. None of you remember me. I am Bellatrix Lestrange and I’m about to kill you all,” she said and immediately one of the vampire girls tackled her.

The other girls were soon right there. It was too dark for Sirius to see much. Harry, Draco and Meghan were all racing to the still open gap in reality. Sirius was closer and rushed forward. Bellatrix kicked the vampire girls off of her, booting one into a tree with a hard crunch.

Meghan’s hand outstretched to the gap, more light projecting onto it.

“Sirius, Draco. Touch me. Put your hands on my shoulders,” Meghan begged.

Both of them did as she asked. Sirius looked around trying to follow the brutal fight that was going on around them. The girls seemed to be trying to lure Bellatrix away. With a howl, the werewolf, Leanne, arrived on the scene, pinning Bellatrix to the ground.

“The Dark Lord will rise and turn you all into ash. Get out of my way! I have things to do to prepare for his ascension,” Bellatrix said, kicking Leanne off.

Sirius now realized that this _had_ all been a trap but for now there was no way to figure out how she had pulled it off. They had to remain focused on the task at hand. Suddenly, Bella arrived next to Meghan and Draco.

“Hey, nephew. Take a hike,” Bellatrix said, yanking Draco off Meghan and tossing him into the woods.

“Now time to take care of you. This is gonna be _fun_ ,” Bella said, and grabbed Meghan by the back of her dress, tossing her towards the open gap.

“No!” Sirius shouted.

Leanne tackled Bellatrix again but it was too late as Meghan hurtled into that other place. Sirius grabbed her hand, feeling her being violently pulled into the town. In a flash of knowledge, like remembering dreams, images hit his mind.

Godric’s Hollow. The name. He could remember it. He saw a great many things. A man who looked like Harry but older. A red-haired woman with Harry’s eyes. An old movie theater. That strange house in Seattle. A man who looked like Remus surrounded by fire and covered from head to toe in blood. A spell being cast on Bellatrix with the help of other people Sirius did not recognize. Harry and Draco arguing, looking like they were about to come to blows.

“Meghan!” Sirius shouted as her hand disappeared and the visions finished.

Sirius tried to remember the name of the town. Godric’s Hollow. It was still there. And all the things he saw he could still remember, clear as day.

There was a flash of light in the woods, much nearer than before and thundering stomping followed. Quickly a familiar figure arrived: Sasquatch, looking just as it appeared back in Texas. Sasquatch growled at Bellatrix and charged at her.

“What the fuck?” Bellatrix shouted, putting up a silvery shield of glowing light at Sasquatch.

All the others were behind her, leaving her trapped. Sasquatch showed no hint of slowing down, its might fist beginning to smash into her shield.

“No one can stop me or the Dark Lord. No one!” Bellatrix shouted and with a flash she disappeared.

Sasquatch looked around at them all then marched back off into the woods, seeming to sigh.

“Did… that really just happen? Did fuckin’ Bigfoot just fight a mean faerie lady? Am I high? I’m a vampire, I _can’t_ be high,” Pansy said, seeming genuinely shaken.

“Yeah. I guess it did,” Remus replied.

“Ah. Cool,” Pansy said with a shrug.

“Looks like the path to the town is gone,” Remus said, looking defeated.

“Godric’s Hollow,” Sirius said.

“You can remember the name!” Katie said excitedly, clapping.

“Yeah. And some other stuff. I… I learned it when… When…” Sirius said, feeling stumped.

“Are you OK, Sirius?” Remus asked, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“I… I’ve forgotten something. There’s a name… I remember I said it… Meghan,” Sirius said.

“Who’sMeghan?” Alicia asked.

Sirius looked around bewildered. Had he forgotten someone named Meghan?

“I… can’t remember,” Sirius said.

“The stone got destroyed,” Draco said, picking up pieces of it from the ground.

The faerie stone. He remembered that. He and Draco used it to open the hole into Godric’s Hollow.

“We can worry about all that later. The five of us need to chase after Bellatrix,” Angelina said.

“Yeah. It was cool. We’ll be in touch,” Katie said.

“How?” Sirius said.

“Huh. For some reason I thought… you’d know how. Here, I’ll give you my cell number,” Katie replied, walking over to Sirius.

“Ciao,” Pansy grinned and waved at them all.

In an instant the four vampires and the werewolf were gone, leaving Sirius, Remus, Harry and Draco alone in the woods together.

“Now what,” Harry said.

“We still need a way into Godric’s Hollow. More than that we know there’s one nasty faerie out there, possibly working with the president. We still need all our memories back. And what’s more… there’s probably more like us out there. More amnesiacs who used to live in this town. We need to find them. Bring them together. If we’re going to face this darkness,” Remus said.

“So, we carry on. Keep researching the supernatural. Learn what we can. Maybe find out things about this battle that’s coming. Hopefully find more like us,” Sirius said, smiling at Remus.

“Then we’re coming with you,” Harry said, firmly.

“Are you sure?” Sirius said.

“Harry’s right. This is our war too. We can use Harry’s house as a base of operations. Anyone we find we can bring back there for safety. Build the resistance one person a time,” Draco said with a smirk.

“Well, then… we’re glad to have you boys on board,” Remus said, shaking their hands as they came over.

“We’re gonna go wait at the cars,” Harry said, seeming like he wanted to get Draco alone.

As soon as the boys were out of the clearing, Remus turned to Sirius.

“We lost something tonight,” Remus said.

“Yeah. We did. I can’t remember but I think… her name might’ve been Meghan,” Sirius said.

“We’ll have to come back for her,” Remus said.

“Remus… I saw things… before the hole into Godric’s Hollow disappeared,” Sirius said.

“Your memories?” Remus said.

“Not all of them. Just flashes. I’m not sure what any of them meant,” Sirius said.

He considered whether he should tell Remus about the man who may have been him, surrounded by fire and covered in blood but he thought better of it. He didn’t know what it meant. It would only upset him.

“Hopefully we’ll figure it all out. Sirius… I just wanted to say… This last couple of months has meant a lot to me. You’ve been as good a partner as a man could want. And what’s more… you helped me complete my mission. All I wanted, more than my memories, was to find the boy that notebook belongs to and give it to him,” Remus said, stepping close to Sirius.

Oh dear, Sirius thought. His lips were so close. Was this really happening?

“Well, I’m glad I could be of service. Guess you’ll no longer have any use for me,” Sirius joked.

“Shut up. I’m sure I can find something else for you to do,” Remus said, beginning to lean in, a hand reaching for Sirius’s hip.

There was a flash of light, startling them both before their lips could touch, Sasquatch marching across then disappearing in a second flash of light. They both laughed and shook their heads. Cockblocked by Sasquatch, Sirius thought with some amusement.

“Are you guys coming?” Harry called out.

Remus sighed and said, “Be right there.”

Sirius wanted to whisper and ask for a rain check on the kiss but he supposed there would be another time. He still remembered the image from his vision of Godric’s Hollow but he didn’t want to think about it. He knew Remus Lupin. He was a good man. If he had found himself in a dark situation there must’ve been a good reason for it.

“We’ll head back to Seattle for tonight to rest and make plans. Maybe take a little time off to rest. But not too long,” Remus said, opening his car door.

“Sounds like a plan,” Harry said.

“Harry, come here. Please,” Remus said, leaning back out of the car.

Harry walked over and Remus put the notebook in front of him.

“I don’t know why this came into my possession. Maybe I never will. But it belongs to you. Don’t worry. I’ve read it front to back a hundred times,” Remus said, nudging it in Harry’s direction.

Harry’s smile was so big, bright and pure it could’ve made Sirius cry.

“Thanks, Mr. Lupin,” Harry said.

“Just call me Remus,” Remus said.

“Thanks… Remus,” Harry replied and walked back to his car.

Sirius smiled at Remus as they got into his car. Yeah. He was a good man.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Consider this the end of the first arc/season 1. There will be more arcs in the future.


End file.
